Russian stocks to open flat waiting for cbank’s key rate decision

MOSCOW, Feb 3 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks are likely to open flat on Friday as a neutral background provides it with no strong drivers and investors are waiting for the central bank’s decision on the key rate, analysts said.

“We expect the Russian stock market to open in the range of the previous MICEX closure point of 2,217.6, and suppose that the stock indicator will fluctuate around the current levels waiting for changes in the background, of which the Bank of Russia’s decision on the monetary policy is of particular importance,” Oleg Shagov, head of investment company Solid’s research department, said.

The Brent oil price is above a U.S. $56 per barrel mark still waiting for data on drilling activity in the U.S., while the U.S. stock index futures are easing and the major Asian bourses are showing no common dynamics. The European trade session’s premarket signals insignificant changes of leading E.U. stock indices early in the day, Shagov said.

“The Russian stock market corrected on Thursday under the weight of a rising ruble and an uncertain condition of the world capital markets. Today, an almost neutral external background has formed prior to the opening of the trading session, which may lead the market to start around yesterday’s closing levels,” Ilya Frolov, a senior capital market analyst at Promsvyazbank, said.

The oil market looks balanced, and Russian stocks still experience an inflow of capital through exchange-traded funds, Frolov added.

But Timur Nigmatullin, an analyst at investment company Finam, said that the MICEX may grow 0.5% in the first half of the day thanks to geopolitical improvements.

“Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Treasury said it will ease anti-Russian sanctions to allow the U.S. companies to cooperate with Russia’s Federal Security Service to receive approval for imports of IT products. Later, the U.S. authorities said it is not in fact lifting of the sanctions. Still, such actions are good news for the Russian market,” Nigmatullin said.

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