Russian stocks mixed on decreasing foreign markets, oil price

MOSCOW, Oct 12 (PRIME) -- The Russian MICEX stock market index fell on Thursday, correcting after a shy Wednesday’s growth on the back of descending oil prices and foreign markets indices, but the RTS remained flat as the ruble strengthened, analysts said.

The MICEX fell 0.29% to 2,094.96 and the RTS grew 0.06% to 1,143.96.

“A negative external background of the key global markets significantly influenced the quotations (in Russia). S&P futures lost 0.18% and the pan-European Stoxx 600 was decreasing by 0.15%,” Otkritie Broker analyst Timur Nigmatullin said.

Sofya Kirsanova, an analyst at managing company Raiffeisen Capital, said that the Brent oil price decreased on the back of a report by the American Petroleum Institute (API) signaling that the reserves in U.S. storages have restarted growth. A report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) added to investors’ pessimism.

The waiting for a release of the U.S. inflation statistics for September added to investors’ unwillingness to take risks, Kirsanova said.

Below are the MICEX’ five most active stocks on Thursday:

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-0.16	195.51	6.851
Norilsk Nickel	-1.17	10155	2.833
Gazprom	-0.06	125.93	2.277
RussNeft	-0.72	551	1.720
Aeroflot	-1.39	181	1.449

(57.9210 rubles – U.S. $1)

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