Russian stocks may open lower on bad environ, no help from oil

MOSCOW, Mar 24 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks are likely to fall at Thursday’s opening thanks to a negative external background and insignificant changes in oil prices, analysts said.

“We expect to see the Russian market to open in a slightly negative way today, close to a 1,875–1,880 range of the MICEX index, and suppose that the indicator may remain under the pressure of sales due to a bad external background,” Oleg Shagov, head of investment company Solid’s analytical department, said.

The Brent oil price is virtually flat at U.S. $40.46 per barrel, the U.S. stock index futures are falling, and Asian floors are showing negative dynamics.

“From my point of view, the Russian stock market will be in the blues today taking into account an unfavorable external background and cheap oil. It is very likely that the MICEX index will fall about 0.5% in the first half of the day, repeating the dynamics of corresponding futures during the Wednesday evening’s session,” Timur Nigmatullin, an analyst at Finam, said.

Sergei Kozlovsky, head of analytical department at binary option trader Grand Capital, said that the pessimistic dynamics of the oil market after Wednesday’s closure of trade on the Russian market and contraction of the U.S. stock indices may exert pressure on the market at Thursday’s opening.

During the day, investors will track dynamics of world oil prices, foreign stock indicators, and the ruble. Some impact on shares may be provided by financial reports of retailer Magnit, steelmaker Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK), and electronic goods and household appliances retailer M.Video, Shagov said.

Investors will also closely watch the release of data on export-import prices in Germany, of monthly report from the European Central Bank, of retail sales in the U.K., and of orders on durable goods in the U.S., Kozlovsky said.

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