Russian stocks to rise on Ukrainian conflict settlement hopes

MOSCOW, Feb 12 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks may increase at Thursday opening on expectations of publication of official results of the talks on the Ukrainian conflict currently continuing between leaders of Russia, France, Germany, and Ukraine in Belarus’ Minsk, analysts said.

“We expect the market’s opening with a significant increase of around 1%, close to the level of 1,780 points at the MICEX. The nearest support levels will be 1,750 and 1,740 points,” Nord Capital analyst Vitaly Manzhos said.

“Thursday’s dynamics will be entirely determined by results of the Minsk meeting,” Veles Capital analyst Alexander Kostyukov said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko, French President Francois Hollande, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel started talks on Ukraine in Minsk late on Wednesday. A source close to the negotiations said the sides managed to reach a huge progress in the talks and plan to sign a document once the meeting is completed. The document containing 10 points has been now agreed on by 80%, he said.

“In our view, publication of a settlement plan could lead to a growth of the market to the maximum levels of this week in the first half of the session, but a rollback is highly probable by the closure,” Promsvyazbank analysts Ilya Frolov and Yevgeny Lokhtyukhov said. Foreign background is moderately positive. U.S. stock futures are moderately decreasing, Asian stocks are rising, they added.

In the second half of the day, market players’ mood will depend on geopolitical news and oil price dynamics, Manzhos said.

“I expect positive dynamics on the MICEX on Thursday and the ruble strengthening against the U.S. dollar in correction,” Finam analyst Anton Soroko said.

End