Russian stocks to fall on oil price, Putin’s China visit suspense

MOSCOW, Sep 2 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market will decrease at the opening of the trading session on Wednesday because oil prices slid, while investors are holding their breath before President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing, analysts said.

The Brent fell 1.98% at 8.49 a.m., Moscow time. The MICEX will reflect the oil market downbeat mood and will open with an about 0.5% downward gap, Vitaly Manzhos, senior analyst at Bank Obrazovanie, said.

The Russian market can be volatile on Wednesday because investors are waiting for Russian companies to sign deals with Chinese companies during Putin’s visit, Oleg Shagov, senior analyst at investment company Solid, said. The list of contracts might include an agreement on another gas supply route.

The U.S. stock market futures rose in the morning but Asian shares fell, making background for the opening of the Russian trading session mixed, Manzhos said.

The Chinese market continues to scare investors because they no longer trust the national central bank, while weak statistics add to the pessimism, Vasily Oleinik, analyst at ITinvest, said.

U.S. oil and oil product reserves statistics will influence oil prices and will be a noteworthy release for Russian stock market investors later on Wednesday, he said.

End