Russian stocks may edge up as oil prices, ruble stabilize

MOSCOW, Oct 24 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market may start Tuesday’s trading session with a slight increase because the oil prices and the ruble stabilized, analysts said.

“We expect purchases in the Russian shares to prevail at the start of trade today because the Brent oil price managed to hold above U.S. $90 per barrel. But our market may experience sales if the situation on the energy market worsens, which will outweigh the morning growth and drag the MOEX Russia Index into the red zone,” Bogdan Zvarich, senior analyst at financial marketplace Banki.ru, said.

The external background for the Russian market is moderately positive with the leading Asian bourses gaining up to 0.8%, the futures for the main U.S. stock indices rising by up to 0.3%, and the Brent oil price climbing by 0.4%, Zvarich said.

“On Monday, the MOEX Russia Index fell by 0.17% to 3,263.68, while the RTS Index rose by 0.91% to 1,091.16. The MOEX Russia Index was under the pressure from the fall of oil prices and the ruble growth. The technical picture for the index is starting to change in favor of the sellers. We should keep an eye on the level of 3,245 because sales of the Russian shares will pick up significantly if the market falls below it,” BitRiver’s financial analyst Vladislav Antonov said.

At the same time, the ruble did not fall below 93 per U.S. dollar, and growth of the MOEX Russia Index could restart any minute, he said.

But Promsvyazbank analyst Yevgeny Loktyukhov said that the shares of the main commodity companies would still be under the pressure, which may drive the MOEX Russia Index to the range of 3,220–3,250 during the day.

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