Russian stocks may rise in main session due to favorable background

MOSCOW, Dec 21 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market is likely to follow the international markets higher at the start its main trading session on Tuesday, analysts said.

“In spite of the omicron variant of COVID-19, purchases again prevailed on the international stock markets this morning, which supported a correctional rebound in many assets. The leading Asian indices grew by up to 2%, the futures for the key U.S. indices gained up to 0.8%, and the nearest futures for the Brent oil blend grew by 1%,” Bogdan Zvarich, senior analyst at financial supermarket Banki.ru, said.

The Russian market will regain some losses at the beginning of the day, and the MOEX Russia Index may try to test the resistance level of 3,690 during the day. But sales may restart in the second half of the day, as investors may continue revising their assessment of omicron’s impact on the global economy, Zvarich said.

Vitaly Manzhos, senior risk manager at investment company Algo Capital, also said that the favorable external background creates prerequisites for the MOEX Russia Index to start the day with a noticeable increase. In the second half of the day, no important foreign economic statistics are to be released, and the local market will track the oil prices and of the U.S. indices, he said.

“A consolidation corridor is gradually emerging for the Russian stock market. The MOEX Russia Index is unlikely to climb to the important resistance level of 4,000–4,050 in the remaining days of the year, and its growth will likely stop at around 3,800–3,900 even if the background remains favorable,” Vasily Karpunin, head of the information and analytics department at BCS World of Investment, said.

“Speaking of the closest level of support, it stands in the range of 3,600–3,650. We expect a positive start of trading. In the medium term, we have a positive outlook on the blue chips of the banking and oil and gas sectors,” Karpunin said.

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