Russian stocks fall discouraged by mixed foreign background

MOSCOW, Nov 20 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market consolidated in the negative territory to close lower on Wednesday amid a mixed global background with rising oil prices and sliding Western stock exchanges, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.18% to 2,936.47 and the RTS lost 0.22% to 1,448.40.

“The Russian stock market sustained moderate losses thanks to a mixed external environment. Local stocks were supported by restoration of the energy market with the Brent oil price adding over 1% to U.S. $61.5 per barrel. On the other hand, the domestic market was pressured by the situation on the Western floors,” senior analyst at Promsvyazbank Bogdan Zvarich said.

Major European indices lost up to 0.5% by the end of the trading session, while the major U.S. benchmarks Dow Jones and S&P500 slid by 0.1–0.2% at the opening.

The MOEX Russia Index continued consolidation over the local support of 2,920. Bears tried to break through the line, but the market managed to keep its position, Zvarich also said.

Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said that Gazprom outperformed the market closing flat on the plans to sell the remaining part of its treasury shares very soon and President Vladimir Putin’s view of the company as undervalued.

Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov said that national flagship air carrier Aeroflot lost 1.79% on the news that the government may delay compensations to airlines for fuel costs in 2018 to 2020.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Gazprom	0	248	49.678
Sberbank	-0.61	237.78	6.695
Lukoil	-0.09	6084.5	3.211
Rosneft	-0.49	450.35	1.981
Norilsk Nickel	+0.31	17646	1.950

(63.7730 rubles – U.S. $1)

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