Russian stocks may open flat on neutral background

MOSCOW, Sep.10 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market is likely to open almost flat on Tuesday as the external background provides players with no strong signals for purchases or sales, analysts said.

“We see the background before the start of trade on the Russian market today as neutral,” Vadim Kravchuk, analyst at Solid Broker, said.

U.S. stock indices fell on Monday as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that Washington was ready to sign only a good deal with China, signaling non-readiness for trade-offs, while democrats in the U.S. Congress were preparing a new investigation to impeach U.S. President Donald Trump, Kravchuk said.

At the same time, the Brent oil price is trying to climb above the level of U.S. $63 per barrel, as the new energy minister of Saudi Arabia turned out to be a strong advocate of the oil output reduction. Iraq is also to start cutting its production more actively under the deal of OPEC and non-OPEC states, Kravhcuk added.

The Brent oil price gained 2.131% to $62.88 per barrel as of 8.35 a.m. Moscow time, according to the ICE exchange.

“There are no significant drivers for growth or for a noticeable fall, as the positive impact of improvement in the U.S.–China relations has already been priced in, while the issue of the U.S. Federal Reserve System cutting its rates was left hanging in mid-air,” Alor Broker’s analyst Alexei Antonov said.

If the oil price grows to $64 and then to $67 per barrel, the inflow of money from non-residents will push the MOEX Russia Index to its all-time highs, but it is a long-term matter. The index may slightly contract at the beginning of Tuesday as investors will try to lock in their profits, but the background may improve in any moment, so investors should open shorts with caution, Antonov said.

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