Russian stocks seen falling on ruble strengthening, oil price sagging

MOSCOW, Aug 16 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market will likely decrease on Wednesday at the start of the session on the back of a stronger ruble after a key rate boost by the central bank and a fall in oil prices, analysts said.

"We expect the sales to predominate today at the start of trade. Investors will change their attitude to some issuers on the back of yesterday's increase of the key rate by the central bank by 350 basis points to 12%," senior analyst at financial supermarket Banki.Ru Bogdan Zvarich said, adding that the sectors focused on the national market will witness the greatest pressure.

"Besides, the oil and gas sector may find itself under the pressure due to deterioration of the situation on the oil market, where the nearest Brent futures did not manage to consolidate above U.S. $85 per barrel," Zvarich said.

The ruble is to be supported by Tuesday’s decision of the central bank and by media reports that Russia might reintroduce the norm of obligatory foreign currency revenue sales by the exporters, the analyst said.

BitRiver’s financial analyst Vladislav Antonov said that the ruble strengthening had caused a downward correction in the Russian shares, but the currency is not expected to be strong, which is why "there is an opinion that the stock market will enter a sideways trend," he said.

Zvarich said that the external market situation was negative on Wednesday in the morning, as the leading Asian markets lost up to 1.6%, the key U.S. futures consolidated near Tuesday's closing after losing about 1%.

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