Russian stocks to continue rising as oil prices rebound

MOSCOW, Dec 18 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market is likely to open higher on Monday on support from a recent rebound of the oil prices, analysts said.

“Last Friday the MOEX Russia Index rose by 0.83% to 3,034. We expect purchases on our market to prevail again at the start of trade today. The continuous recovery of the energy market will act as the main factor here, as the closest futures for the Brent oil price is moving toward the middle of the range of U.S. $75–80 per barrel supporting the Russian shares,” financial marketplace Banki.ru’s senior analyst Bogdan Zvarich said.

As a result, the MOEX Russia Index may try to climb to 3,050–3,070 until the end of the trade session, he said.

Given the oil market’s condition, the external background is positive for the Russian market on Monday morning. The leading Asian bourses are mixed, while futures for the U.S. stock indices gained up to 0.3% after closing in a mixed way on December 15, Zvarich said.

“The MOEX Russia Index again entrenched above 3,020, which is a positive factor for the Russian stock market. If the index stays above that for two trade sessions in a row, we will have to revise our scenario to a contraction,” BitRiver’s financial analyst Vladislav Antonov said.

He said that a further growth of the Brent price will be restricted by strengthening of the U.S. dollar, and liquidity should contract during this week because of the upcoming Christmas holidays. This could trigger the oil market’s volatility, Antonov said.

He also said that the ruble was to continue to fall against the U.S. dollar to 91.80 until the end of the week if the current tendencies remain in place, which should provide support to the MOEX Russia Index.

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