Russian stocks seen flat ahead of cbank key rate decision

MOSCOW, Sep 16 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks may open flat on Friday ahead of the central bank’s decision on the key rate expected later in the day, analysts said.

“We expect the Russian stock market to open at the level of the previous close at the MICEX index (1,996.6 points), assuming that it will continue fluctuating around current levels on the bank of investors waiting for the central bank’s statements on the monetary policy,” Oleg Shagov, head of investment company Solid’s research department, said.

The central bank is expected to announce its decision on the key rate currently standing at 10.5% at 1:30 p.m. Moscow time and the regulator’s Chairwoman Elvira Nabiullina will hold a news conference at 3:00 p.m.

The market’s intraday dynamics will depend on the behavior of oil prices and Western stock indicators, as well as the ruble rate changes and ongoing events, the analyst said.

The ultimate influence of key external factors that have an impact on the Russian financial market is close to neutral at the beginning of the day, he said. Brent oil futures are consolidating around the two-week minimums amid fears that potential growth of oil supplies from Nigeria and Libya may significantly increase oil oversupply on the market, Shagov said.

The U.S. leading stock indicators are not changing much, while main Asian stock indicators are demonstrating mostly positive dynamics.

Vitaly Manzhos, a senior analyst at Bank Obrazovanie, expects the Russian stock market to open with a moderate decrease of 0.3% to around 1,990 points at the MICEX index.

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