Russian stocks seen rising slightly on oil price growth

MOSCOW, Sep 27 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market will likely increase marginally on Wednesday on the back of a growth of oil prices, analysts said.

"The MOEX Russia Index closed with a growth yesterday. Taking into account its isolation and the current stabilization of the ruble rate, we assume that the index would rise slightly today at the opening of the market," Alexander Arutyunyan, chief economist at Russ-Invest, said.

According to Alor Broker analyst Alexei Antonov, the oil and gas sector may outperform the market in the morning, as the prices rose 0.8% to U.S. $93.3 per barrel.

The government is unlikely to approve an initiative by deputies of the State Duma to charge the windfall profit tax on oil and gas companies, because oil companies pay more than other firms to the treasury. "An additional tax burden could force them to raise the local fuel prices, which would trigger an inflation jump," the analyst said.

The metals sector trend is less evident, as a growth of demand in China might be balanced by logistic troubles. "Besides, the sector will fall under a new U.S.-dollar tied tax from October. Lastly, there are no hints at dividends from steelmakers," Antonov said.  

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