Russian stocks fall as US–China trade talks disappoint investors

MOSCOW, Oct 14 (PRIME) – The Russian stocks fell on Tuesday as the stock and commodity markets were disappointed by recent trade negotiations between the U.S. and China, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.39% to 2,697.46 and the RTS decreased 0.64% to 1,321.13.

“Risky assets remained in the defensive position in the second half of the day. Investors are not only skeptical about last Friday’s progress between China and the U.S., but they react to the other news coming from the trade front,” Arseny Dadashev, director of the Academy for Management of Finance and Investment, said.

Beijing already signaled its wish for more negotiations before signing the first phase of the deal, while U.S. President Donald Trump announced large sanctions against Turkey, which reminded the market about ongoing political tensions, Dadashev said, adding that contraction of oil prices bears additional risks for the market.

“The price of ‘black gold’ was not impressed by the agreements of the U.S. and China, just like risky assets, and a downward correction trend may worsen soon, if the sides add fire to investor concern about the negotiation’s progress,” he said.

Sergei Deineka, financial analyst at BCS Premier, also said that the market saw that the U.S. and China still had much work to do to reach a trade deal, so trade risks for the international economy were still relevant.

“As we see it, a slight worsening of the geopolitical background around Russia could also have helped in restraining activity of buyers on the national market, as the E.U. Council has prolonged sanctions against Russia over the Salisbury poisoning for one year,” Deineka said.

Dmitry Bedenkov, head of the research department of investment company Russ-Invest, said that Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) and fertilizer producer PhosAgro contracted 2.63% and 0.68%, respectively, due to the dividend cut-off, while internet giant Yandex jumped 4.09% in correction after a slump on October 11.

Shares of precious metals producer Polymetal International gained 0.99% thanks to a 0.6–0.7% increase in prices for gold and silver, Bedenkov said.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-0.83	228.40	7.933
Yandex	+4.09	1975.60	7.305
Lukoil	+0.46	5450.00	3.563
Gazprom	-0.60	226.00	3.329
Norilsk Nickel	-0.86	15940.00	1.611

(64.2237 rubles – U.S. $1)

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