Russian stocks pushed down by negative foreign environment

MOSCOW, Feb 10 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market edged down on Monday discouraged by falling Western floors and oil trading below U.S. $54 per barrel, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index decreased 0.82% to 3,062.41 and the RTS dropped 0.94% to 1,503.95.

“The Russian stock market started the week with negative dynamics due to the external background… The number of new registered coronavirus cases decreased, but negative sentiment still prevails on the market, which has resulted in a new wave of sales of risky assets,” senior analyst at Promsvyazbank Bogdan Zvarich said.

Major European indices fell about 0.5%, and U.S. benchmarks Dow Jones and S&P500 lost around 0.1% in the first 30 minutes of trading. The Brent oil price slid over 1% to below $54 per barrel, he added.

Oil company Rosneft and diamond producer ALROSA were the outsiders losing around 3%.

Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov said that Rosneft’s dynamics are linked with the threat of new U.S. sanctions against the company over its ties with Venezuela.

Gas producers Gazprom and Novatek were among the losers declining 1.71% and 2.31%, respectively, in light of investors’ concerns over a fall in demand in China, Kochetkov said. Norilsk Nickel managed to stay in the positive territory thanks to strong prices for nickel and palladium, he added.

Below are the MOEX Russia Index’s five most active stocks on Monday:

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Gazprom	-1.71	225.2	11.509
Sberbank	-0.8	252.26	8.929
Lukoil	-0.63	6410	6.123
Rosneft	-2.93	450	4.043
Norilsk Nickel	+1.14	21442	3.928

(63.4720 rubles – U.S. $1)

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