Russian stocks to fall as foreign bourses under pressure

MOSCOW, Oct 7 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market will most likely contract at the start of the Friday trading session as the foreign bourses remain under pressure and provide no support, analysts said.

“On Thursday, the MOEX Russia Index fell by 0.5% to the range of 2,021. Our market tried to grow in the first half of the day and tested the resistance of 2,050, but failed to hold above the level, and active sales led the market to the negative territory later in the day. Pressure on the Russian securities may continue today, and the MOEX Russia Index may retreat to 2,000,” financial platform Banki.ru analyst Bogdan Zvarich said.

The background for the Russian market is negative. The leading Asian bourses lost 0.8%, while the futures for the main U.S. indices eased by 0.3%, and the Brent oil price decreased by 0.3%, Zvarich said.

Head of Alor Broker’s investment consulting department Alexei Antonov said that the Friday factor may even cause the Russian market to fall below 2,000 even though there is no reason for a more serious contraction.

The MOEX Russia Index could have lost more than 0.46% on Thursday, but the growth of Gazprom and Rosneft prevented that. Friday will be the last day for the Gazprom shares to trade with dividends, while the Thursday growth of Rosneft was unexplainable, this is why there is no certainty that the shares will support the market on Friday as well, Antonov said.

Promsvyazbank analyst Alexei Golovinov said that the MOEX Russia Index may spend the Friday trade in the 2,000–2,050 range as there are no triggers that could lead the market out of the range while the international markets are under pressure on Friday morning.

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