Russian stocks seen unpredictable as Ukraine conflict continues

MOSCOW, Feb 25 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market can open lower on Friday, because the military operation in Ukraine will likely turn into a long-lasting conflict, and the Western states introduce new sanctions, analysts said, adding that the market is completely unpredictable.

"Military experts lied to (Joseph) Stalin in the 1939–1940 war against White Finland. They said everything would end soon, but the operation lasted for a long time in fact. Military experts of all countries were severely mistaken about the 1968 conflict in the Middle East. The Afghan War of 1979, again a military miscalculation. They told (Leonid) Brezhnev that everything would be over soon, but they were mistaken," Univer Capital’s Andrei Vernikov said.

The U.S. imposed sanctions on the Russian banks, and VTB dove 41% on Thursday although the sanctions were unsurprising to investors. The pressure will continue as the U.K. foreign minister said that the authorities would not stop until they destroy the Russian economy, Vernikov said.

However, Russia has not been disconnected from interbank messaging system SWIFT, which means that the worst thing has not happened, and investors can be relieved, he added.

Georgy Vashchenko from Freedom Finance abstained from publication of an index guidance and trading ideas because of high market volatility. He added that the ruble is protected from a freefall by the central bank, and can see speculative demand in the coming days.

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