Russian stocks to grow as oil prices rise confidently

MOSCOW, Feb 20 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market will edge up at the start of the trading session on Friday following rising oil prices that overshot a U.S. $60 per barrel psychological threshold, analysts said.

“Today, the dynamics of the Russian market will be defined solely by the oil quotations trends. So far there is a surge on commodity floors and we expect its continuation during the day,” Andrei Dirgin, analyst at Alfa-Forex, said.

The Brent price rose 0.60% to $60.57 per barrel as of 9.20 a.m., Moscow time.

Traders hope that this rise is a real U-turn of oil prices instead of a knee-jerk reaction, Dirgin said.

The unresolved Greek debt issue and commodities’ volatility ahead of three-day holidays in Russia, may make mean that stocks will sag in the evening, Promsvyazbank said.

Russian markets will be closed on Monday as the country celebrates the Defender’s Day.

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