Russian stocks to fall as environment provides bleak prospects

MOSCOW, Dec 29 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market is likely to start trading on Thursday with a fall as the impact of the external background can cause only sales, analysts said.

“We expect trading in Russia to start with an up to 0.2–1.0% fall of the MOEX Russia Index in the range of 2,115–2,135. The levels of 2,110 and 2,100 will act as the closest support, while 2,140 and 2,150 will become the resistance. A noticeable worsening of the external background creates conditions for a negative opening of the MOEX Russia Index,” Algo Capital senior risk manager Vitaly Manzhos said.

The futures for the main U.S. indices are mixed, while the Chinese index Shangai Composite lost 0.5% and the Japanese index Nikkei225 decreased by 1.1%. The futures for the gold are almost flat, while the Brent oil price lost 0.5%. Therefore, the background for the Russian market is negative, Manzhos said.

In the second half of the day, the national market will focus on important pieces of external political news and local corporate news, and the release of weekly data on reserves of oil and oil products in the U.S. may also have an impact on the Russian market, he said.

BitRiver financial analyst Vladislav Antonov said that the amount of new coronavirus cases in China concerns investors as the country’s healthcare system may fail to cope with the amount of sick people, causing new lockdowns and hurting demand for oil. Countries all around the world are already taking measures to check or limit tourists from China, and the OPEC+ alliance is tracking the market sentiment in order to react appropriately.

The range of 2,110–2,160 is the relevant range for the MOEX Russia Index today, therefore investors should not expect a serious and continuous movement in any direction until the end of the week, Antonov said.

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