Russian stocks to grow as geopolitical worries fade away, oil rises

MOSCOW, Feb 13 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market may grow at Friday opening because concerns regarding the Ukrainian military clashes have faded away after separatists signed a ceasefire, and growing oil prices will support the market, analysts said.

“The easing of concerns due to the geopolitical risks and the oil price dynamics will support the market – Brent futures touched a U.S. $60 per barrel level,” Olma’s senior analyst Anton Startsev said.

On Thursday, Ukrainian separatists signed a truce after 16-hour negotiations which went along with a meeting of the Normandy Four, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany.

Stock market futures in the U.S., as well as the Asian stock indices are demonstrating mixed dynamics, and they will not hamper the Russian market growth, Promsvyazbank’s analyst Ilya Frolov said in a research note.

The MICEX is on track for reaching a 1,880–1,900 level, while the RTS will rise to even a faster pace than the MICEX because of the oil dynamics, he said.

In the second half of the session, the Russian stock market dynamics will depend on further geopolitical news and oil futures. The euro zone’s gross domestic product release will influence the Russian market only to some extent, Nord Capital analyst Vitaly Manzhos said.

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