Russian stocks may rise on positive environment, Fed’s move

MOSCOW, Jan 31 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks are likely to grow on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve System (Fed) left its key rate unchanged pushing the global stock and commodity bourses higher, analysts said.

“Today, the RTS Index may test 1,200 at the start of trade thanks to a favorable external background. The Fed’s comment allows us to expect a long-time pause in the cycle of monetary policy toughening, and a scenario when the interest rate remains flat until the end of the year is now seen as baseline,” investment company Olma senior analyst Anton Startsev said.

The Fed’s comment resulted in a weakening of the U.S. dollar and growth on the stock and commodity bourses, he said.

“I expect the market to grow. There is no negative news, and the market will continue its upward dynamics in the range of 2,500–2,550 of the MOEX Russia Index. The oil and gas sector will lead the market,” Grigory Vashchenko, head of the department for operations at the Russian stock market at investment company Freedom Finance, said.

Vitaly Manzhos, senior risk manager at investment company Algo Capital, said that the background for the Russian stock market is positive at the beginning of Thursday -- the U.S. stock index futures rise by up to 0.4%, the Brent oil price gains about 0.9%, Japan’s Nikkei225 grows by 1.0%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng by 1.1%.

“We expect the MOEX Russia Index to open with a noticeable increase of about 0.5% close to 2,525. The levels of 2,510 and 2,500 will act as the closest support, while the levels of 2,540 and 2,550 will become noticeable resistance. We may see the MOEX Russia Index hitting a record high again at the beginning of the day supported by the favorable external background,” Manzhos said.

Manzhos also said that the market will track the oil price dynamics, and the U.S. jobless claims.

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