Russian stocks fall on profit taking amid recession fears abroad

MOSCOW, Aug 24 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market decreased at the closing on Wednesday amid profit taking and global investors’ fears of a recession in Western countries,  analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index decreased by 0.52% to 2,248.22, and the RTS index fell by 0.65% to 1,182.39.

“The Russian stock market opened with growth and corrected down by the end of the day… The market players were taking profit ahead of conversion of global depositary receipts into shares,” senior analyst at Promsvyazbank Vladimir Lyashchuk said.

“High oil prices, above U.S. $100 per barrel, curtailed stock sales, and the ruble depreciation against the dollar supported the exports sector,” he added.

According to Finam analyst Ksenia Lapshina, the local market experienced some pressure from somewhat negative moods on global floors and expectations of a recession in Western countries.

TCS Group fell by 5% after it released a report showing that its net profit for January–June hit the lowest level in five years.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-1.71	128.15	5.941
Gazprom	-0.80	182.83	3.229
TCS Group	-5.06	2579.50	2.604
Lukoil	+0.46	4117	1.255
Yandex	+0.14	2085.20	1.122

(59.8963 rubles – U.S. $1)

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