Russian stocks may open mixed on neutral background, oil prices

MOSCOW, Feb 5 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks are likely to open mixed on Thursday as neutral external background will favor a flat opening of the MICEX index, while low oil prices will push the RTS index down, analysts said.

“We expect the ruble-denominated MICEX index to open flat, while the foreign-currency-denominated RTS index may fall about 1% at the opening,” Vasily Oleinink, analyst at ITinvest, said.

Low oil prices and news that international rating agency Standard & Poor’s cut ratings of some Russian issuers, including Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, Rosneft and Novatek, will exert some pressure on Russian stocks, and technical analysis provides no reason to expect suspension of consolidation of the RTS index, Olma’s senior analyst Anton Startsev said.

The Brent oil price edged up 0.26% to U.S. $54.30 per barrel as of 8.39 a.m. Moscow time, but lost about 8% during the previous trading session.

“The background prior to the opening of the trading session is neutral. U.S. stock index futures are falling, but Asian floors are mostly rising. The opening at the Moscow Exchange may be close to yesterday’s levels of the MICEX index. During the day the index is very likely to rise to 1,675-1,690 points,” Promsvyazbank’s analyst Ilya Frolov said in a research note.

Investors will also closely watch for the release of the Bank of England’s decision on interest rates, Germany’s industrial data and U.S. jobless claims.

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