Russian stocks fall on lower ruble, COVID concerns

MOSCOW, Jul 6 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market fell on Wednesday as the national shares were hit by the falling ruble and renewed concerns about the spread of the COVID-19 in China and several European countries, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.21% to 2,221.88 and the RTS decreased 3.93% to 1,101.64.

“The Russian stock market finished the day lower on Wednesday under the impact of the ruble and corporate stories,” Veles Capital analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said, adding that the RTS Index fell because of the ruble’s tumble.

Investment company Freedom Finance said in a research note that the foreign bourses also mainly decreased as the market was concerned by the news about the spread of new COVID-19 variants in China and in some European countries.

The coronavirus concerns also undermined the Brent oil price, which has fallen below the psychologically important level of U.S. $100 per barrel for the first time since mid-March, Freedom Finance said.

Kozhukhova also said that power utility Wholesale Generating Company-2 (WGC-2) and aluminum giant UC RUSAL shrank by 2.15% to 0.6779 rubles and 3.27% to 55.63 rubles, respectively, in correction from the Tuesday growth.

The ordinary shares of oil company Surgutneftegas lost 2.22% to 26.37 rubles as the parliament’s lower chamber State Duma approved a bill that allows banks to impose negative interest rates on foreign currency deposits of companies. Surgutneftegas is well-known for a large amount of liquid assets in foreign currency, she said.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Gazprom	-0.95	195.42	16.537
Sberbank	+0.37	134.00	6.371
Lukoil	-1.32	3962.00	2.444
Novatek	+4.06	1009.60	1.541
Norilsk Nickel	-1.49	16452.00	1.496

(58.5118 rubles – U.S. $1)

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