Russian stocks fall as markets fear new wave of coronavirus

MOSCOW, May 13 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market contracted on Wednesday together with the major foreign bourses on investor worries about a possible new wave of the coronavirus and lackluster economic statistics brought no joy, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 1.40% to 2,604.98 and the RTS decreased 2.37% to 1,110.37.

“The eternal markets again demonstrate concern about a possible new wave of the COVID-19 outbreak and possible toughening of the quarantine measures,” Andrei Kochetkov, senior analyst at Otkritie Broker, said.

Certainty in a V-shaped recovery of the global economy is shrinking day by day, Kochetkov said.

“The external background was moderately negative for the Russian market during the day. The key indices fell on the worries about a second wave of the pandemic after lifting of the quarantine measures. The market mood was also soured by Europe’s first quarter statistics. Oil also adds no positive news -- it fell below U.S. $30 after an announcement that the growth of the U.S. oil and fuel reserves has restarted and that demand lags behind supply,” Valery Yemelyanov, analyst at investment company Freedom Finance, said.

Kochetkov also said that the presence of shares of gold producers Polymetal International and Polyus among the growth leaders was a sign of the market anxiety. Polymetal gained 1.30% to 1,484 rubles, and Polyus grew 2.64% to 12,295 rubles.

Top bank Sberbank fell 2.14% to 187.31 rubles in reaction to a 21.6% fall in profit for January–April calculated under Russian Accounting Standards, Kochetkov said.

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

Таблица без названия

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-2.14	187.31	11.962
Gazprom	-1.06	184.20	6.147
Lukoil	-1.60	4819.00	5.588
Norilsk Nickel	-1.21	20762.00	4.760
Moscow Exchange	-0.80	127.28	3.651

(73.4326 rubles – U.S. $1)

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