Russian stocks to rise slightly on growing oil, Asian markets

MOSCOW, May 29 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market will increase slightly at the opening of the trading session on Friday because of an oil price rebound and a growth at Asian bourses, analysts said.

“A weakly positive background is being formed at the beginning of the trading session. A small recovery of oil prices and a positive dynamics at Asian floors may trigger growth of the key indices at the start of the trade,” Promsvyabank’s analysts Ilya Frolov and Yevgeny Loktyukhov said.

Brent grew 0.69% to U.S. $63.01 per barrel as of 9.20 a.m., Moscow time.

In Asia, Nikkei rose 0.34% and Hang Seng 0.44% at 9.21 a.m., Moscow time, recovering after recent losses, analysts said.

The Russian RTS may rise in the morning, technical analysis data suggests, but there are still no reasons for a confident gain, Olma’s senior analyst Anton Startsev said.

Sberbank and Inter RAO will hold annual general meetings on Friday. Transneft and PhosAgro will post their financial reports, all these corporate events will significantly influence the Russian stocks’ trends, Oleg Shagov, senior analyst at investment company Solid, said.

The most important statistics release will be the U.S. gross domestic product in January–March, the figures can significantly undershoot previous estimates, Shagov said.

Any news regarding Greece’s negotiations with creditors will affect Russian investors’ moods, Startsev said.

The Russian gauges will finish the week at 1,670-1,680 MICEX points and above 1,000 RTS points, Frolov and Loktyukhov said.

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