Russian stocks to dive at opening as Lukoil goes ex-dividend

MOSCOW, Jun 2 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market can slide significantly at the opening on Friday as oil company Lukoil will be trading ex-dividend, but the market can recover later in the day thanks to bullish sentiments on the back of recovering crude prices, analysts said.

“We expect the MOEX Russia Index to be trading in the upper part of the 2,650–2,700 range. Lukoil’s ex-dividend gap is a key event of today’s trading session. The share can drop by around 8% at the opening, and the index can lose 1.3% starting the day at 2,680,” Alexei Golovinov, chief analyst at PSB Bank, said.

“We assume that Lukoil will partially offset the fall by the end of the session, but the MOEX Russia Index can stay at the morning’s levels if (top bank) Sberbank’s and (gas giant) Gazprom’s shares are exposed to pressure again,” he added.

BitRiver financial analyst Vladislav Antonov sees the technical picture as favorable for further growth of the Russia market. Lukoil’s shares will be bought on the bullish market, and the MOEX Russia Index will recover after a fall at the opening, he said.

Antonov said that the Brent oil is trading at U.S. $74.70 per barrel after a significant rise on Thursday.

He also said that the ruble continues consolidation against the U.S. dollar at around 80 rubles per dollar.

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