Russian stocks to erase gains as Brent halts growth

MOSCOW, Apr 17 (PRIME) -- Overbought Russian stocks will decline on Friday in the morning because a record oil price rise seen earlier this week has stopped, analysts said.

“Foreign background is moderately negative today at the opening of the trading session. Oil prices have slid after yesterday’s rise to about U.S. $65 per barrel for the closest Brent future, while there is mostly a mood for correction in the foreign markets,” Promsvyazbank analyst Yevgeny Frolov said.

Brent fell 0.81% to U.S. 63.46 per barrel at 9.15 a.m., Moscow time.

Greece has again asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to postpone the repayment of debt due in May and June, but the IMF refused to do that, setting a downbeat mood in Europe, Olma senior analyst Anton Startsev said.

International ratings agencies will release their reports on Russia’s credit rating on Friday. Russian investors will also pay attention to the euro zone’s inflation, and Baker Hughes’ data on U.S. drilling rigs, Andrei Dirgin, analyst at Alfa-Forex, said.

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