Russian stocks may open close to flat on lack of strong drivers

MOSCOW, Jun 6 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks are likely to open close to flat on Monday as the external background provides no strong drivers for any kind of movement, analysts said.

“For now, we see no grounds for the Russian stock indices to leave the consolidation movement. The oil market continues to ‘work out’ the level of U.S. $50 per barrel of Brent, and the world trade floors are also in some kind of a lull,” Anton Startsev, a senior analyst at investment company Olma, said.

The Brent oil price grew 0.66% to $49.97 per barrel as of 9.04 a.m. Moscow time, according to the ICE exchange.

The minor increase of the oil price may somewhat improve the mood of Russian investors. “The ruble-denominated MICEX index may show an insignificant growth of 0.3% at the opening, but it may very well switch to the red zone later in the day,” Vasily Oleinik, an expert at brokerage and investment company ITinvest, said.

“The level of 1,900 points of the MICEX index acted as a good support since the middle of April, but now it will act as the resistance. Everything – the technical analysis and fundamentals – prompts a further contraction of stock markets in the world, but there are no reasons for serious sales now,” Oleinik said.

The general background prior to the opening of the trading session in Russia is close to neural, as U.S. stock index futures are changing insignificantly, Asian floors are slightly falling, but the premarket of the European trading session indicates a moderate increase of major European bourses at the beginning of the day, Oleg Shagov, head of investment company Solid’s analytical department, said.

“We expect the Russian stock market to open in a neutrally-positive way around 1,890 points of the MICEX index and suppose that the stock indicator will continue to fluctuate around current levels in reaction to movements of the external background,” Shagov said.

A speech by U.S. Federal Reserve System’s Chairwoman Janet Yellen to be made at Philadelphia’s World Affairs Council at 7.30 p.m. Moscow time will become the main event of the day. The topic of the speech is “the economic forecast and the monetary policy, hence the great interest of investors,” Oleinik said.

The financial report of oil major Lukoil, which is to be released later in the day, may also have an influence on the local market or certain shares, Shagov said.

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