Russian stocks flat on oil price decrease, rising foreign markets

MOSCOW, Sep 23 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market closed near the level of opening on Thursday, as it seemed overbought to investors amid an oil price fall, but was supported by growing foreign markets, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index grew 0.52% to 4,052.14, and the RTS Index rose 0.34% to 1,753.21.

"Russian indices decreased from the daily maximums by the middle of trading session as external factors deteriorated," Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

The oil market mood was negative as the Brent and WTI futures declined 0.5%, because investors took profit. Market participants would likely wait for new fundamental signals before resuming growth, Kozhukhova said.

The European stock markets were moderately positive, and the Euro Stoxx 50 grew 0.9%. The U.S. stock market was moderately positive before the start of session and the S&P 500 futures grew 0.6%, Kozhukhova said.

Andrei Kochetkov, Otkritie Broker senior analyst, said that the MOEX Russia Index peaked at 4,058.15 and started falling as investors took profit on Thursday after a Wednesday's rally.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Gazprom	+0.85	343.5	20.751
Sberbank	-0.24	327	8.328
Norilsk Nickel	-0.24	23094	7.948
Rosneft	+1.61	595.45	6.908
Lukoil	+1.31	6789.5	6.184

(72.8806 – U.S. $1)

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