Russian stocks fall as EU, US slap new anti-Russian sanctions

MOSCOW, Jun 2 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market edged down on Thursday on the back of introduction of new sanctions by the E.U. and the U.S., analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 1.45% to 2,340.17 and the RTS decreased 2.14% to 1,196.03.

“The Russian stock market was pressured by introduction of a new package of sanctions and decreasing prices for commodities. The MOEX Russia Index lost 1.4%, but stayed within the 2,300–2,400 range. All sectors demonstrated a decline,” head of PSB Bank’s analysis group Vladimir Solovyov said.

The E.U. announced the sixth package of sanctions against Russia over the situation in Ukraine. It includes a ban on imports of Russian oil by the sea and sanctions against three banks, military and security officials, businessmen, mass media representatives and their families.

The U.S. also introduced sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities including steel producer Severstal, which lost 15.27% on the news.

Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said that the OPEC+ alliance’s decision to increase production in July and August has not impacted the oil price, which continued an upward trend.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-2.44	119	5.125
Gazprom	-0.57	296	4.956
Severstal	-15.27	815.8	3.174
Norilsk Nickel	-1.28	20154	1.402
Lukoil	-0.96	4035	1.267

(61.4733 rubles – U.S. $1)

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