Russian stocks may open flat as market waits for OPEC meeting

MOSCOW, Nov 30 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks may open flat on Wednesday as the oil market will wait for the results of an OPEC meeting, which is top set production ceilings, analysts said.

“During the day, consolidation of the RTS index may continue following the oil prices before the announcement of results of the current OPEC meeting in Vienna. The news conference with the results is scheduled for 6.00 p.m. Moscow time,” Anton Startsev, a senior analyst at investment company Olma, said.

Oleg Shagov, head of investment company Solid’s research department, said that the external background prior to the opening of the Russian market is neutral as oil prices are slightly volatile ahead of the OPEC decision, while the U.S. stock index futures are easing and the main Asian floors show no common dynamics.

“We expect the Russian market to open in a range of 2,085–2,090 of the MICEX index and suppose that the results of the OPEC summit and oil statistics of the U.S. will prompt some activity at the market later in the day,” Shagov said.

Ilya Frolov, a senior manager for the stock market research at Promsvyazbank, said that the OPEC summit is a key factor, and the market will slide if the outcome is bad. Contraction will continue later in the week, and by the end of Friday the MICEX may fall to 2,065–2,075 if no positive feedback comes from the organization.

Startsev said that besides the oil reserve statistics, the U.S. is also to release the ADP employment report.

Shagov added that the list of local corporate events that may have an impact on the market includes releases of financial results of national flag carrier Aeroflot and oil company Tatneft, and also a conference call of oil major Lukoil.

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