Russian stocks seen opening down on new COVID-19 strain

MOSCOW, Nov 26 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market will likely open lower on Friday as a new coronavirus strain was found in Africa, analysts said.

"The MSCI Emerging Markets index fell yesterday, the prices for oil and the Asian shares fell today. The situation was negative in the morning. The World Health Organization is holding an emergency meeting today due to a new strain of the COVID-19," Andrei Vernikov, head of investment analysis department of Investment Group Univer, said.

He added that another strain of the COVID-19 was found in South Africa, and it is reportedly more dangerous than Delta. Some airlines plan to cut the number of flights to Africa, and the markets have become more pessimistic.

Alor Broker senior analyst Alexei Antonov said the Russian market may see a dramatic decline on Friday as U.S. futures lost more than 1%, oil plummeted 2.5% to about U.S. $80.

He said that the media reports about Russia’s possible assault on Ukraine are not the real reason why investors flee Russia, but strong dependence of the economy on oil and a looming end of its price growth after the U.S. introduces stricter monetary policies.

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