Russian stocks fall on coronavirus concerns, inflation woes

MOSCOW, Jul 16 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market contracted on Friday as the global investors were worried about the Delta variant of the COVID-19, and rising inflation, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.78% to 3,770.15 and the RTS decreased 0.56% to 1,603.10.

“The market tried to climb above 3,800 of the MOEX Russia Index in the first half of the day, but failed. The weakness of oil prices and the lack of global risk appetite prevent us from talking  about consistent growth next week. Worries about a new wave of the Delta variant of the COVID-19 in the world mount as efficacy of existing vaccines is lower against it,” Andrei Kochetkov, leading analyst for global research at Otkritie Broker, said.

Veles Capital  analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said that the background for the market was negative as the U.S. indices started falling after a robust start of the day. The European bourses fell on the unfavorable inflation data. Even the oil prices contracted on expectations that the OPEC plus decides to increase of oil production in the coming months, she said.

“The flight from risks prevailed on the world’s stock exchanges on Friday triggered by anxiety over inflation. Even though the Federal Reserve System’s head again confirmed readiness for further stimulation of the economy, some words revealed worries about inflation, the signs of which can be seen in macroeconomic data,” she said.

Kochetkov also said that the shares of metals and mining group Mechel gained XX% as the company repaid the fourth series of bonds on July 15, finishing payments of all bond issues  restructured in 2015–2016.

Gas giant Gazprom gained XX% as its natural gas production rose by 17.9% on the year to 278.8 billion cubic meters as of July 15, he said.

Kozhukhova also said that the shares of gold producers Polymetal International and Petropavlovsk Plc fell by XX% and XX%, respectively, as the gold price failed to stay above the resistance level of U.S. $1,840 per ounce.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-0.65	299.75	9.872
Gazprom	-0.36	279.00	7.277
Surgutneftegas	-1.28	45.77	4.909
Lukoil	-0.73	6383.50	4.670
Norilsk Nickel	-1.37	25272.00	4.619

(74.2197 rubles – U.S. $1)

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