Russian stocks to open flat on no drivers, stable oil price

MOSCOW, Sep 29 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks are likely to open unchanged on Friday as the background provides no strong drivers and oil price dynamics is stable, analysts said.

“We expect the market to open with insignificant changes of the MICEX index within a 2,070–2,075 point range…It is possible that the local market will switch into consolidation after a moderately negative start. The neutral external background favors no directed movements of the MICEX or the RTS,” Vitaly Manzhos, a senior risk manager at investment company Nord Capital, said.

Changes in oil prices are still the most noticeable guideline for trade in Russian shares, Manzhos said.

Oleg Shagov, head of investment company Solid’s research department, said that the ultimate influence of the key external factors on the Russian market is close to neutral at the beginning of the day. The Brent oil price is stable at around U.S. $57.5 per barrel waiting for the U.S. drilling activity data, the Asian floors are showing no common dynamics, the U.S. stock index futures are changing insignificantly.

“We expect the Russian stock market to open around yesterday’s closing points of the MICEX index of 2,071.6, and suppose that the stock indicator will continue the day with calm fluctuations around the current level,” Shagov said.

Anton Startsev, a senior analyst at investment company Olma, said that further consolidation of the RTS index is the most probable scenario as the Brent oil price has stabilized at $57–58 per barrel. The possibility of the U.S. Federal Reserve System toughening its monetary policy is still a factor that restraints inflow of capital into emerging markets, he said.

Investors will track the statement of the European Central Bank’s President Mario Draghi later in the day, and watch the release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures data of the U.S., Starstev said.

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