Russian stocks may open flat on lack of drivers

MOSCOW, Jul 30 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks may open neutrally on Thursday as a mixed external background provides no drivers for significant movement of the market in any direction, analysts said.

“We see no significant reasons for the RTS Index to end its consolidation stage. The U.S. Federal Reserve System’s comment turned out to be soft, which could have been a favorable factor for the markets, but the Fed’s estimate of recovery trajectory of the economic growth is still rather pessimistic, which confirms the uncertainty,” investment company Olma’s senior analyst Anton Startsev said.

Futures for U.S. stock indices are slightly falling, and Asian floors show mixed dynamics, Startsev said.

“The background for the market is mixed today. After our closure on Wednesday, U.S. stock indices grew significantly on the news coming from the Fed. … But this morning, futures for U.S. indices are falling by about 0.33%, and all industrial metals are also in the red zone. That is why we are to see a neutral opening, while further dynamics will depend on the external background,” Alor Broker’s senior analyst Alexei Antonov said.

Nevertheless, the Russian market may continue its growth as there are several factors that support it. First, there is a cross-flow of money from the bond market, where yields fell to the level of inflation, and second, Russian investors are reinvesting a significant share of the dividends that they receive unlike foreign players, Antonov said.

Startsev also said that markets might be volatile during the day due to a strong flow of corporate reports, as about 60 companies of the S&P 500 index and almost 50 companies of the Euro Stoxx index are to report today.

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