Russian stocks fall as China Evergrande may face new problems

MOSCOW, Sep 24 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market decreased on Friday on the back of a global market decline, as China Evergrande did not report debt repayment on time, which may mean new troubles for the company and the global construction business, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.34% to 4,038.23, and the RTS index decreased 0.32% to 1,747.56.

"The Russian market was predominantly falling in the first half of the day. An attempt to grow finished on the level of 4,057.09. The troubles with China Evergrande were worrying the market again. The company had to make another tranche of debt repayment on Friday, but there were no reports on the matter. Therefore, the risks of default, feared by the market so much, have increased," Andrei Kochetkov, Otkritie Broker senior analyst, said.

Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said that the European markets saw a negative trend with the Euro Stoxx 50 falling 0.8%, as Germany's Ifo business climate index decreased in September, and investors took profit. The U.S. stock market was moderately negative before the opening with the S&P 500 futures decreasing 0.4%.

The analyst said that the oil market was neutral, close to the peaks of U.S. $77.66 for Brent and $73.66 for WTI in the middle of the session in Russia, slightly pressurized by rising U.S. dollar and a lower risk appetite.

MMK slid after reporting the sale of a 1.5% stake in the company by the key shareholder Viktor Rashnikov, the dividend cut-off also affected the dynamics, analysts said.

Below are the MOEX Russia Index’s five most active stocks on Friday:

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Novatek	-0.19	1,865.4	12.996
Gazprom	+0.29	344.47	12.680
Sberbank	-0.62	325	7.563
MMK	-5.85	72.395	7.048
Rosneft	+1.61	607.9	6.629

(72.7245 – U.S. $1)

End