Russian stocks to open sideways on mixed background

MOSCOW, Apr 7 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market is likely to start Thursday’s main trading session in a volatile sideways movement as the external background sends mixed signals, analysts said.

“We expect the MOEX Russia Index to start the main trading session with a deviation of up to 2% in the range of 2,550–2,670. The levels of 2,530 and 2,500 will act as the closest support, while 2,700 and 2,730 will become the resistance. After the deviation at the start of the day that is moderate for the current conditions, the index can switch into consolidation,” Algo Capital senior risk manager Vitaly Manzhos said.

The futures for the U.S. stock indices lost up to 0.5%, while the Chinese index Shanghai Composite went down by 1.2% and the Japanese index Nikkei225 shrank by 1.5%. But the Brent oil price gained 1.7% after Wednesday’s fall and the gold futures rose by 0.2%, Manzhos said.

Taking into account all the factors, the background for the Russian market is mixed in the morning, and provides no guidance for the start of trade on the national bourse, he said.

“The MOEX Russia index remains in sideways consolidation. For a signal to continue growth to appear, consolidation above 2 800 is necessary. In this case, the levels of 2,920–2,930 will become the next target, but this scenario is unlikely to happen this week,” Vasily Karpunin, head of the information and analytics content of BCS World of Investment, said.

“The low range of the slowdown can lie around 2,500–2,600. The shares of the consumer, telecom, and power sectors may look better than the market today, while banks will likely remain under local pressure.”

Bogdan Zvarich, senior analyst at financial supermarket Banki.ru, said that the MOEX Russia Index lost 1.9% on Wednesday mainly in the final hours of trade pummeled by the geopolitical factor.

“This trend may continue on Thursday morning, and the MOEX Russia Index may dive below 2,600 at the start of trade as a result. The negative investor mood may prevail during the trading session, and may push he index down below 2,500 closer to the end of the session,” Zvarich said.

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