Russian stocks fall on low oil price, lack of growth drivers

MOSCOW, Dec 21 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks decreased on Thursday amid falling oil prices and a lack of growth drivers, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.46% to 2,093.38 and the RTS dropped 0.21% to 1,126.97.

“Having opened in the negative territory, investors made timid attempts to get rid of pressure from sellers, but a weak foreign background coupled with negative internal factors dragged benchmarks to new lows,” InstaForex analyst Igor Kovalyov said.

Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said that “investors have not received reasons for growth, that’s why sales continue.”

“Russian indices continue movement on the negative territory. At present, there are no fundamental factors for purchases, while oil prices or technical correction could help the market to enter the plus zone over the next few days,” Kozhukhova said.

Oil company Tatneft was among outsiders, with its common and preferred shares falling 1.12% and 5.67%, respectively, after an ex-dividend date.

Fertilizer maker Uralkali lost 4.35% after its shareholders approved delisting from the Moscow Exchange.

Developer LSR Group was among growth leaders having increased 4.21% after saying that it will buy back up to 1 billion ruble shares and global depositary receipts (GDR) under a motivational program for executives.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-1.06	223.60	7.806
Gazprom	-0.6	131.70	5.183
Lukoil	-1.2	3332.50	2.351
VTB	-1.22	0.04535	2.120
Norilsk Nickel	-0.77	10531.00	1.457

(58.7170 rubles – U.S. $1)

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