Russian stocks fall on oil, gas price drop, negative foreign mood

MOSCOW, Sep 16 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market edged down on Thursday, discouraged by a negative environment on global stock and commodity exchanges, and a fall in gas prices in Europe, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index dropped 0.5% to 4,045.10 and the RTS decreased 0.62% to 1,755.64.

“A fall of the MOEX Russia and the RTS indices accelerated at the end of the trading session to the support levels of 4,030 and 1,750… There are no significant changes to encourage the buyers on the market now,” Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

Pessimistic sentiments prevailed on global markets except for European stock markets prior to a meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve scheduled for the next week, and anticipations that the regulator can cease its program of assets purchases in 2021, she added.

The nearest Brent and WTI oil futures lost around 1% to U.S. $76.5 and $73.3 per barrel, respectively, as they are pressured by gradual oil production recovery in the Gulf of Mexico after the Ida Hurricane, Kozhukhova also said.

Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov said that the current situation on the Russian stock market is closely linked to the gas prices dynamics in Europe. Gas giant Gazprom fell by 1.14% after a decrease of the price for gas to below $800 per 1,000 cubic meters after a recent hike to $980, which impacted the entire stock market in Russia.

Kochetkov added that a steep decline of copper, nickel, gold and silver prices discouraged trading in local metals and mining shares as well.  

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Gazprom	-1.14	339.41	30.795
Sberbank	-2.13	326.41	19.773
Lukoil	-0.75	6674	10.878
Rosneft	+1.21	575	9.422
Norilsk Nickel	-2.41	23400	9.262

(72.8520 – U.S. $1)

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