Russian stocks seen opening higher supported by positive news flow

MOSCOW, Aug 7 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks are likely to open higher on Tuesday supported by a positive news flow and a favorable external background, analysts said.

“The RTS index may grow at the start of trade today and return to 1,150 points given the impact of the external background. A flow of relatively good corporate reports cuts volatility of Western trade floors, as the VIX index fell close to a record low in the past six months, which may result in an increase of general investor interest to shares as in a type of assets,” Anton Startsev, a senior analyst at investment company Olma, said.

“But technical analysis gives us no grounds to say that the RTS index has finished its consolidation period.”

Mikhail Poddubsky, a senior analyst at Promsvyazbank, said that the news flow was positive for the ruble and Russian stocks early in the day.

“Yesterday, Moody’s said that Russia was ready to neutralize the impact of any new sanctions that the U.S. may introduce. Moreover, there are still prospects for the (Russian) sovereign rating to rise to the investment grade, but the agency wants the government to stick to the budget rule for that to happen,” Poddubsky said.

Dmitry Bazhenov, an analyst at KIT Finance Broker, also said that trade in Russia will mostly remain in the green zone. Among corporate news, market players will focus on April–June financial results of power producer Unipro and oil major Rosneft, and on January–July financial results of top bank Sberbank, he said.

End