Russian stocks may rise in expectation of milder cbank policy

MOSCOW, Mar 18 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks may increase on Friday at the trading session start because investors will be waiting for signals that the central bank will ease the monetary policy at a meeting scheduled for later in the day, analysts said.

“I must emphasize that Russia’s annual inflation, and also inflation forecasts for the end of this year are lower than the central bank’s key rate by 25% already. At the same time, noticeable strengthening of the ruble is happening, which reduces inflation expectations. This is why the central bank can map out a milder monetary policy which will be perceived bullishly by investors,” Oleg Shagov, head of investment company Solid’s research department, said.

The majority of market analysts do not expect key rate changes this time, Olma senior analyst Anton Startsev said.

The Thursday evening’s optimism on the back of the U.S. Federal Reserve System’s policy updates has faded by Friday, Startsev said. Still, the premium for risk has lowered significantly, and there is a positive sentiment concerning developing markets, Ilya Frolov, an analyst at Promsvyazbank, said.

Brent rose 0.05% to U.S. $41.56 per barrel on 9:12 a.m. Moscow time. This is also a positive factor for Russian assets, albeit there are no fundamental factors for future oil price growth, Pavel Salas, general director for Russia and CIS at brokerage company eToro, said.

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