Russian stocks may rise on geopolitics, oil price dynamics

MOSCOW, Aug 30 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks may rise on Wednesday morning as investor worries about a recent North Korean missile launch have abated and the oil price is rising, analysts said.

“Today a slight increase is possible at the beginning of trade thanks to some easing of concerns about North Korea – the initial reaction (the reaction of the U.S. in particular) to the missile launch towards Japan was not as tough as could have been expected,” Anton Startsev, a leading analyst at investment company Olma, said.

Bodgan Zvarich, an analyst at investment company Freedom Finance, said that the local market will also be supported by favorable external background as the U.S. stock indices Dow Jones and S&P500 gained 0.3% and 0.1% on Tuesday, respectively, futures for the indices are growing about 0.1% as of 9.00 a.m. Moscow time, and the Asian floors are showing mixed dynamics.

“The energy market will also support Russian bulls. The Brent oil price rose to the level of U.S. $51.8 per barrel, which is higher than it was when our market closed …The conditions allow us to expect a positive opening of the market, which will allow the MICEX index to make one more step toward a psychologically important resistance level of 2,000,” Zvarich said. 

Startsev also said that investors will track releases of macro statistics during the day, including the U.S. April–June gross domestic product (GDP) while the local market will wait for details of Gazprom’s dividend policy discussed by the board of directors on Tuesday.

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