Russian stocks fall following easing oil prices

MOSCOW, Apr 15 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks shrank on Monday in line with contraction of oil prices, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.57% to 2,545.12 and the RTS decreased 0.51% to 1,246.99.

“The current week will be short as the bulk of countries will celebrate Easter on Friday, while quarterly reports of U.S. and European companies will be in investor focus. No important news was to be published today, and the exact date of signing a peace treaty in the U.S.–China trade war is still unclear, so it was tough for investors to make out any positive factor to prolong growth of exchange indices,” Finam’s expert Vasily Oleinik said.

The oil price, which contracted by as low as 1% during the day, spoiled the day for Russian investors with its pressure on the oil and gas sector, Oleinik said.

Yelena Kozhukhova, analyst at investment company Veles Capital, said that the U.S. stock markets, which lost 0.2–0.4% close the end of the trading session in Russia, also hurt the national market.

“The markets had a tendency for correction as they were overbought in the short-term and as Citigroup and Goldman Sachs reported a contraction of revenue. Investors are currently ready to take profit without serious reasons, so the season of financial reports may give them some ideas,” Kozhukhova said.

Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov said that aluminum giant UC RUSAL lost 0.54% to 27.85 rubles on the news about plans to build rolled aluminum plant in the U.S.

Steelmaker Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) published a 3% contraction of steel output in January–March, pushing prices 2.23% down to 168.50 rubles, Kochetkov said.

He also said that children goods retailer Detsky Mir outperformed the market and gained 0.46% to 88.30 rubles as its consolidated revenue rose by 16.1% in January–March.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-0.71	237.80	11.472
Gazprom	-0.50	158.33	2.929
Lukoil	-0.18	5590.00	2.438
Sberbank prefs	+0.07	204.95	1.472
Rosneft	-0.83	428.90	1.234

(64.5171 rubles – U.S. $1)

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