Unfavorable background, low oil prices drag Russian stocks down

MOSCOW, Dec 21 (PRIME) -- The Russian stocks closed in the red zone on Friday as continuing contraction of oil prices and a negative impact of the external background left local bulls without any support, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.24% to 2,347.17 and the RTS decreased 0.58% to 1,077.17.

“The Russian stock market continued its decrease on Friday as the background at the external floors remained unfavorable…It looks like Christmas rally is not going to happen this year. Investors are too concerned with the looming slowdown of the global economy. The VIX volatility index jumped to record highs of this year, to 28.4, which may mean that investors are trying to avoid risk, so resumption of purchases on the stock markets is unlikely,” investment company Freedom Finance analyst Anastasia Sosnova said.

The Brent oil price fell 0.985% to U.S. $53.82 per barrel as of 6.13 p.m. Moscow time, according to the ICE exchange.

“Bears were again supported by the energy market, where the Brent oil price slid even below $53 per barrel for a moment. At the same time, external bourses showed mixed movements. In Europe, the major indices lost up to 0.5% by the end of the day, while the Dow Jones and the S&P500 in the U.S. grew by 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively, after the first 30 minutes of trade,” Promsvyazbank’s senior analyst Bogdan Zvarich said.

Andrei Kochetkov, Otkritie Broker’s analyst, said that shares of Russian oil companies were not as hit by the plunge of oil prices as they could have been due to depreciation of the ruble. But shares of metals companies were deeper in the red due to concerns over the future of the global economy.

Shares of aluminum giant UC RUSAL fell 3.11% and global depositary receipts of En+ Group decreased 2.19% in correction after Thursday’s jump, Kochetkov said.

Kochetkov also said that shares of gold producer Polyus grew 2.57% in reaction to a significant increase in gold prices.

Below are the MOEX Russia Index’ five most active stocks on Friday:

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-1.33	186.79	11.346
Lukoil	+2.53	4930.00	11.173
Gazprom	-0.76	151.12	3.720
Norilsk Nickel	-1.54	13014.00	2.045
Tatneft	-0.66	710.00	1.952

(67.3710 rubles – U.S. $1)

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