MOSCOW, May 22 (PRIME) — Russian stocks fell on Thursday as investors switched to taking profit after the start of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum and on fears of a new wave of escalation in the Ukrainian crisis on statements of Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk prior to the presidential elections, analysts said.
The MICEX fell 0.65% to 1,430.54, and the RTS edged down 0.31% to 1,312.97.
“The Russian stock indices showed a moderate decline after a long growth of quotations despite the positive news background. Investors preferred to take profit after the start of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum,” Veles Capital said in a note.
The domestic market was also pressured by investors’ worries over further developments of the Ukrainian crisis as Yatsenyuk has requested an immediate UN Security Council session, Invescafe’s analyst Roman Grinchenko. Yatsenyuk said that he has evidence of Russia’s involvement in the escalation of the crisis in the country.
“The Russian stock market faced a downward correction after a sustainable growth. Most liquid shares traded in the red,” Ivan Fomenko, director of Absolut Bank’s trust management department, said.
Gazprom fell 1.23% after a combined increase of 17.5% over the last two weeks, Sofiya Kirsanova, an analyst at Raiffeisen Capital, said. “As no further details of the contract with CNPC except for a preliminary price, timeline, and volume have been announced, it has become interesting who will finance construction of infrastructure needed for gas supplies to China,” she said.
The deal may negatively affect dividends of the state-controlled company if it annually pays for construction works on its own given the combined capital investments of U.S. $55 billion, Kirsanova said.