Russian stocks to open flat as sanction risks limit optimism

MOSCOW, Oct 5 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market is likely to start the Wednesday trading neutrally as expectations of the E.U. sanctions are likely to restrict purchases, analysts said.

“We think that the MOEX Russia Index will trade in the range of 2,000–2,100 today. We don’t expect any serious dynamics as there is an obvious lack of buyers because there are no noticeable triggers,” Alexei Golovinov, Promsvyazbank’s analyst, said.

Veles Capital analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said that the foreign markets mood is positive as they are pricing in the hopes that the central banks would soften their stance because the economies are slowing down.

“This led to sales in the defensive U.S. dollar positions, which drove up prices for commodities including oil, gold, silver, and other metals,” she said.

The dynamics of the MOEX Russia Index and the RTS Index are limited before the announcement of new sanctions by the E.U. later this week, she added.

“We expect mixed dynamics as volatility is decreasing. The guidance for the MOEX Russia Index is the range of 2,020–2,080,” deputy director of Freedom Finance Global research department Georgy Vashchenko said.

The foreign bourses and commodity markets rise. The media reported that the OPEC+ alliance is ready to cut the output by 1–2 million barrels a day, but it is difficult to forecast the impact of the decision on the oil market in the mid-term.

The U.S. and the E.U. are working on the Russian oil price cap, but they plan no secondary sanctions, which means there will be no global oil deficit this winter, Vashchenko said.

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