Russian stocks fall on lower oil prices ahead of OPEC meeting

MOSCOW, Nov 29 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks decreased on Tuesday pressured by falling oil prices amid uncertainty about an OPEC meeting on oil market stabilization measures slated for Wednesday, analysts said.

The MICEX fell 0.37% to 2,086.84 and the RTS edged down 1.21% to 1,005.82.

“Not high enough activity on markets is explained by investors’ unwillingness to risk ahead of an important meeting of OPEC members, which will take place already on Wednesday, November 30. The sooner the summit is, the more doubts emerge concerning reaching an agreement on oil production freeze,” Forex Club analyst Irina Rogova said.

The Brent oil price slid 3.4% to U.S. $46.6 per barrel ahead of the OPEC meeting, analysts said.

Metals and mining group Mechel fell 3.82% despite posting a 5.543 billion ruble net profit in January–September against a 74.585 billion ruble net loss in the same period of 2015, as calculated under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Oil major Lukoil gained 0.05% after reports that its IFRS net profit dropped 55% on the year to 160.2 billion rubles in January–September.

Shares of Far Eastern Shipping Company (FESCO) fell 5.25% being pressured by reports that Interprombank plans to file a suit seeking bankruptcy of the company, Vitaly Manzhos, a senior analyst at Bank Obrazovanie, said. At the same time, the company’s IFRS net profit quadrupled on the year to $49 million in January–September.

Hydropower giant RusHydro rose 3.68%, as investors continue reacting to recent reports stating the company’s board of directors approved a 40 billion ruble additional share offering, InstaForex analyst Igor Kovalyov said.

Below are the MICEX’ five most active stocks on Tuesday:

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-0.83	158.07	7.828
Gazprom	-0.8	147.75	3.141
Lukoil	+0.05	3147.00	2.962
RusHydro	+3.68	0.9127	2.438
Inter RAO	-3.48	3.81	1.734

(64.9153 rubles – U.S. $1)

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