Russian stocks fall on ruble dynamics, profit taking

MOSCOW, Feb 8 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market contracted on Wednesday from the pressure exerted by the weakening ruble and profit taking in some shares, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.69% to 2,251.97 and the RTS decreased 2.25% to 981.82.

“The Russian stock market switched into the red zone coming under the pressure of the ruble’s dynamics and profit taking in the shares of some companies,” Veles Capital analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

The external background was favorable as the European bourses grew in response to the Tuesday’s improvement of the investor mood in the U.S., while the Brent oil price gained almost 1% prior to the release of the oil reserve report by the U.S. Department of Energy, she said.

However, profit taking in a wide range of shares continued, while the ruble lost about 1% against the U.S. dollar and the euro, hurting the Russian market, Kozhukhova said.

Dmitry Babin, stock market expert at BCS World of Investment, said that budget deficit is ramping up pressure on the ruble.

“This could be demonstrated by the fact that the Russian authorities are discussing a one-time voluntary contribution to the budget from businesses from the profits they received in the financially favorable year of 2022,” Babin said.

Kozhukhova said that oil company RussNeft gained 13.87% to 105.90 rubles on the general optimism in the oil sector fueled by reports about an increase of Russia’s oil exports at the beginning of 2023 in spite of the sanctions.

Bank Saint Petersburg rose by 5.87% to 111.90 rubles as its shares continued receiving support from the bank’s buyback program, she said.

At the same time, the securities of internet giant Yandex, independent gas producer Novatek, online marketplace Ozon, multi-industry holding Sistema, and grocery retailer Magnit lost 1.57%, 1.10%, 1.53%, 2.75%, and 1.64%, respectively, as profit taking set in, she added.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-0.71	164.22	8.974
Belon	+97.60	23.445	4.384
Polyus	+0.77	9181.50	3.290
Mostotrest	+39.93	278.60	2.914
MGTS prefs	+16.38	1790.00	2.484

(70.8924 rubles – U.S. $1)

End