Russian stocks may continue falling together with oil prices

MOSCOW, Dec 7 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market may edge down at the start the Thursday trading session because of the ongoing contraction of oil prices, analysts said.

“One of the reasons for the negative dynamics of the ruble assets is a 5-day non-stop slump of oil. Yesterday the price of ‘black gold’ lost 3.6% more to below the important level of $77 per barrel. The level of $72 per barrel will act as the new support, only $2.5 are left to get there,” Alexei Antonov, head of Alor Broker’s investment consulting department, said.

The strong resistance level for the MOEX Russia Index is in the range of 3,000–3,050, and the buyers could start buying here a wide range of Russian shares. But if the index dips below 3,000 significantly, the sales may pick up dramatically because some investors will start cutting their mid-term portfolios, Antonov from Alor Broker said.

“The MOEX Russia Index fell by 1.59% to 3,079.50 (on Wednesday), while the RTS Index shrank by 1.96% to 1,045.28. The MOEX Russia Index continues its downward correction while the investors continue closing their long positions prior to the New Year holidays. I expect the index to fall to 3,020, and even if it doesn’t contract swiftly, the decrease will continue after a short-term upward correction,” BitRiver’s financial analyst Vladislav Antonov said.

Cifra Broker said in a research note that the external background for the Russian market was negative -- the Japanese index Nikkei 225 lost 1.8%, while the Chinese index Shanghai Composite fell by 0.1%, it said.

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