Russian stocks may consolidate on global uncertainty, higher oil

MOSCOW, Apr 13 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market may consolidate on Friday following a period of high volatility, waiting for further evolvement of the Syrian conflict and supported by strong oil, analysts said.

“The RTS index is likely to consolidate in the first part of the day due to lower volatility after a period of panic sales. At the same time, stable growth is unlikely to resume amid continuing geopolitical uncertainty,” Olma senior analyst Anton Startsev said.

He added that the U.S. and its allies are still considering missile attack on Syria as possible.

Alpari analysts Vladislav Antonov said that the Russian ruble is also very sensitive to the Syrian conflict and will stay under pressure for a few more days until the conflict is resolved. If the U.S. drops its attack plans, the ruble may instantly surge to 60.79 rubles per U.S. dollar.

Alpari senior analyst Anna Bodrova said that the Brent crude price is consolidating around a $72 per barrel mark, a many weeks’ record high reached thanks to acute geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and a pause in the trade war between the U.S. and China.

Crude may support the Russian stock market.

Russian traders may also follow decisions made by an extraordinary meeting of shareholders of home appliances and electronic goods retailer M.Video.

End