Russian stocks may edge up at opening supported by oil price

MOSCOW, Feb 25 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks may edge up at Thursday opening supported by a rebound in oil prices boosted by U.S. statistics on reserves of oil products, analysts said.

“We expect the Russian stock market to open with a moderately positive increase close to 1,800 of the MICEX index and suppose that the world oil price dynamics is still the key driver for the market,” Oleg Shagov, senior analyst at investment company Solid, said.

The Brent oil futures have again broke through U.S. $34 per barrel after the U.S. said that its reserves of oil products declined unexpectedly sharply on Wednesday.

The increase may not be significant and the “technical analysis shows that the RTS index may even continue its consolidation” as no reasons for significant movements of the market have appeared, investment company Olma’s senior analyst Anton Startsev said.

Aside from the oil price, external background is mixed prior to the opening of trade, Shagov said. The U.S. stock index futures are changing insignificantly and main Asian floors show no common dynamics.

Still, the Russian market is very likely to price in Wednesday’s increase of the oil price. “We expect the market to open significantly higher with an about 0.4–0.7% rise of the MICEX index in a 1,805–1,810 range. Levels of 1,785 and 1,770 points will remain the closest support, while 1,820 and 1,840 will act as a resistance level,” Vitaly Manzhos, senior analyst at Bank Obrazovanie, said.

During the day, investors will also track the U.S. jobless claims data and statistics on orders for durable goods, Manzhos added.

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