Russian stocks fall on Czech accusations, Navalny’s health woes

MOSCOW, Apr 19 (PRIME) -- The stock market contracted on Monday following accusation of the Czech Republic of Russia’s involvement in a blast of an ammo warehouse and worsening health of oppositionist Alexei Navalny, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.68% to 3,574.08 and the RTS decreased 1.37% to 1,476.58.

“Although the new U.S. sanctions turned out to be not as bad as expected and the market could have a breather, the geopolitical tension is still present. A new diplomatic scandal with Russian participation broke out during the weekend, this time with the Czech Republic, which accused the Russian intelligence services of involvement in a blast of an ammo warehouse in 2014,” Natalya Pyryeva, analyst at investment company Finam, said.

The imprisonment of Navalny, who has been on a hunger strike for almost three weeks, also exerts pressure on the Russian stock market, she said.

“The market mood on the foreign bourses favored correction on Monday. The lack of noticeable macroeconomic signals forced investors to take their profits, but no serious sales have started yet,” Veles Capital’s analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

“On the geopolitical front, investor attention switched to Navalny’s health, but the Russian market will likely follow the external background in a few coming days, and may return to growth if the oil prices restart their upward dynamics,” Kozhukhova said.

Andrei Kochetkov, leading analyst at Otkritie Broker for global research, said that the shares of Russia’s second largest bank VTB were among the loss leaders falling by 1.69% to 0.046675 rubles on the bank’s financial report for January–March.

The sector of metals and mining grew, with gold producers Petropavlovsk Plc, Polymetal International, and Polyus being the major contributors and gaining 3.87% to 28.87 rubles, 2.02% to 1,663 rubles, and 1.64% to 15,250 rubles, respectively, as the gold price is at U.S. $1,785 per ounce and may continue its growth if the U.S. dollar weakens further, Kochetkov said.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-0.23	287.84	14.157
Gazprom	-1.91	230.62	8.714
Norilsk Nickel	-0.71	25296.00	6.485
MMK	-0.91	68.20	6.395
Severstal	-2.22	1729.60	6.086

(75.5535 rubles – U.S. $1)

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