Russian stocks seen falling on foreign mkts, oil price correction

MOSCOW, Feb 19 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market will likely fall at opening on Friday on the back of an oil price correction and a downward trend on the global stock markets, analysts said.

"The rally on global stock markets halted over the last few days to give way to correction, and the Russian stocks will not have much to oppose to this," Finam analyst Igor Dodonov said.

According to the analyst, market optimism ahead of approval of the U.S. incentive program has been already priced in, and many investors have taken profit. Pessimistic economic statistics and a significant increase of state bond yields in many countries have also contributed to market melancholy.

The oil price correction, which has already started, and the persisting sanctions risks are especially weighing upon the Russian market, Dodonov said. Media reported that the E.U. can introduce new sanctions against Moscow over the sentence to opposition politician Alexei Navalny next week.

The Asian markets decline with the Nikkei 225 falling 0.82% and the Hang Seng 0.85%. The U.S. S&P 500 futures decreased by 0.47%. The April futures for Brent lost 1.22% to U.S. $63.15.

Vitaly Manzhos, senior risk manager at investment company Algo Capital, said that the MOEX Russia Index would likely open with a 0.2–0.6% decrease in the range of 3,380–3,395. The levels of 3,370 and 3,350 are support and 3,420–3,440 are resistance.

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