Russian stocks may fall as investors focus on oil price contraction

MOSCOW, Nov 12 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market is likely to edge down at opening on Friday as investors will focus on the falling prices for oil, analysts said.

“On Thursday, the Russian stock market managed to rebound after getting close to the lower threshold of the upward movement channel in which it has been trading since September 2020. The rebound occurred on the back of an oil price recovery and recovery of the oversold Sberbank,” Alor Broker’s senior analyst Alexei Antonov said.

The oil price has fallen by 1% since then. The prices for commercial metals also fell. The markets are entering a stage of high volatility as the U.S. Federal Reserve System is toughening its monetary policy, he said.

“That is why we expect a slight contraction of the Russian stock market at least in the first half of the day,” Antonov added.

Igor Galaktionov, stock market expert at BCS World of Investment, said that the oil prices are unlikely to continue growing as the latest OPEC report does not provide strong drivers for that.

“The demand forecast is still key for the market. The consumption estimate for 2021 was downgraded by 160,000 barrels per day for the year and by 330,000 barrels per day in the fourth quarter. The forecast for higher 2022 demand remained intact at 4.15 million barrels per day. In general, the report brought nothing new,” Galaktionov said.

Georgy Vashchenko, head of the Freedom Finance’s department for trade operations on the Russian stock market, said that the Russian stock market may show mixed dynamics at the beginning of the day.

“The external background is calm, there is no important international news and statistics in the focus now. The MOEX Russia Index guidance for the day is 4,150–4,200,” Vashchenko said.

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