Russian stocks may rise at opening following oil prices

MOSCOW, Dec 24 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks are likely to increase at Thursday’s opening following growth of oil prices as activity on foreign markets is winding down ahead of Christmas holidays, analysts said.

“The increase of the RTS index may continue today at the start of trading following the oil prices. According to a recent U.S. Department of Energy’s report, the U.S. oil reserves fell by almost 5.9 million barrels, while the market participants expected a 1.1 million barrel increase,” investment company Olma senior analyst Anton Startsev said.

The Brent oil price is rising 0.78% to U.S. $37.65 per barrel as of 8.41 a.m. Moscow time after a 4% increase on Wednesday.

“At the same time, the activity at external markets is falling due to the upcoming Christmas holidays, for instance in Germany trading will not be held today already, so the increase cannot be seen as stable growth,” Startsev said.

The general background prior to the opening of trade is close to neutral as U.S. stock index futures are not changing significantly, Asian floors are showing no common dynamics and European premarket data indicates the possibility of a flat opening of the region’s bourses, Oleg Shagov, head of investment company Solid’s analytical department, said.

But a strong Wednesday performance of the U.S. stock index futures and Wednesday evening’s growth of local stock index futures ensure a positive opening of the local market. “We expect the market to open with a significant 0.5–0.7% increase of the MICEX index close to the 1,760-point mark,” vitally Manzhos, a senior analyst at Bank Obrazovanie, said.

The MICEX levels of 1,740 and 1,730 will be the closest support levels, while the 1,775 and 1,785 point marks will act as resistance, Manzhos said.

During the day, investors will also track the U.S. jobless claims data, he added.

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