Russian stocks fall on mixed background, weak crude

MOSCOW, Oct 27 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market closed with a decrease on Wednesday, mainly due to weak crude oil dynamics that dragged the whole market down, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.15% to 4,229.53 and the RTS decreased 1.31% to 1,891.28.

“The external background was mixed today. Chinese indices showed decline. The Chinese authorities toughened the position on Evergrande and required the owner to repay debts on his own. His entire fortune is more than 20 times less than the debt mass. U.S. futures were moving mixed today. The U.S. market was supported by strong macro statistics and good financial reports. The Russian stock market ended the trading session with a decline,” Yevgeny Linchik, chief analyst at Sber Asset Management, said.

“The domestic stock market was dominated by correctional sentiment, mainly due to the correction in the commodity markets. The securities of oil and gas sector companies went down in price on the Brent oil price retreat, Yegor Zhilnikov of PSB Bank said.

Both the Russian currency and oil futures looked down today, Linchik said.

According to PSB Bank, Novatek presented strong figures for July–September, in line with market expectations in terms of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) and noticeably higher in terms of net income. The company’s revenues amounted to 269.8 billion rubles in the period. EBITDA including shares in the joint venture increased 94% on the year to 181.8 billion rubles. Novatek’s net income for the period stood at 112.9 billion rubles, an increase of 800% on the year.

VTB reported another strong quarter, in line with consensus. The bank earned 87 billion rubles of net income in July–September and for 9M21 net income jumped 330% to 258 billion rubles on booming economic activity after COVID-19 lockdowns, Aton Research analysis team said.

Yandex presented financial results for Q3 2021 that exceeded the consensus. The company’s revenue rose 56.5% on the year to 91.3 billion rubles. Adjusted net profit decreased by 82% on the year to 1.34 billion rubles, Yelena Kozhukhova of Veles Capital said.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+0.27	373.15	10.143
Gazprom	-0.25	363.89	8.712
Norilsk Nickel	-1.66	22,312	5.566
Yandex	+5.58	5,605.8	5.394
Lukoil	-1.44	7 333	4.400

(69.5526 rubles – U.S. $1)

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