Russian stocks seen neutral as US–China trade deal optimism ends

MOSCOW, Dec 18 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market can open with marginal changes on Wednesday because the global markets’ rally fizzled out, analysts said.

“Some consolidation close to a 1,500 level of the RTS is possible in the short term. Investors on the global stock markets have taken a breather, according to the stock market dynamics, because positive expectations from the U.S.–China trade deal have been mostly priced in, and there are no new reasons for a Christmas rally so far,” investment company Olma’s senior analyst Anton Startsev said.

The U.S. stock market indices grew by 0.1% on average, the futures trade near Tuesday’s closing. The European markets closed lower in general and the Asian markets traded mixed.

Mikhail Poddubsky, senior analyst at Promsvyazbank’s department for research and strategic marketing, said that possible impeachment of U.S. President Donald Trump is not seen as a significant risk by the global markets.

Poddubsky said that on the other hand, the leaders of the U.S. and China negotiation teams can announce the date of a meeting to sign a trade agreement, which would be a positive news for markets. Trump’s team can announce the economic agenda for his second term in office, which could also cause a rally.

Poddubsky said that investors should pay attention to the fact that Wednesday is the last day that Lukoil will trade with dividends, and that on Thursday, the stock can fall by 0.4–0.5% after a dividend cutoff.

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