Russian stocks may hit new highs supported by strong oil prices

MOSCOW, Jan 25 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks may open flat and rise during the day on Thursday, backed by oil trading at levels unseen since December 2014, analysts said.

“The March Brent futures are fluctuating at around $71 per barrel, supported by statistics from the U.S. Department of Energy… We expect the MOEX Russia Index to open flat and do not rule out that it may hit a new all-time record if the external environment is favorable,” Oleg Shagov, head of investment company Solid’s research department, said.

According to Shagov, the current global situation is mixed with the main U.S. indices futures seen flat and the Asian markets trading lower.

Olma senior analyst Anton Startsev said that the Brent crude price at over $70 per barrel will support Russian oil and gas stocks, while a weakening U.S. dollar is raising investor interest in emerging markets. At the same time, the RTS still looks overbought meaning its positive dynamics may be unstable.

Investors in Russia are also likely to follow Sberbank CEO German Gref’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos and a slew of operating results releases for October-December from Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK), retailer Lenta and coal producer Raspadskaya.

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