Russian stocks to fall at opening on low oil price, Chinese cooling down

MOSCOW, Dec 8 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks are likely to fall at opening on Tuesday due to low oil prices and weak Chinese macroeconomic statistics, analysts said.

“We expect the Russian stock market to open with a lower the RTS index and within a 1,735–1,740 range of the MICEX index. The pressure of sales on the Russian market may remain due to unfavorable external background,” Oleg Shagov, head of investment company Solid’s analytical department, said.

U.S. Stock index futures are falling prior to the opening of the Russian market, Asian floors are mostly in the red zone due to weak Chinese macroeconomic data that indicate a further cooldown of the economy. The Brent price fell over 5% to 6-year lows of below U.S. $41.

“Despite a morning slowdown of the oil price contraction, technical analysis still shows that a further downward movement in both the Brent oil futures and the RTS index is possible. External pressure factors still weigh upon the ruble,” investment company Olma’s senior analyst Anton Startsev said.

Investors will track the Eurozone’s gross domestic product data during the day, but will still mostly focus on dynamics of the oil price, Vitaly Manzhos, a senior analyst at Bank Obrazovanie, said.

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