Russian stocks may face a downward correction at Friday opening on the back of weak statistics from the U.S., and risks of further escalation in Kiev, analysts said.
“The day may start with a downward correction on the back of external background, as weak industrial output in the U.S. showed that the country’s economy is bearing cuts in the provision of stimulus measure not so well,” Alexei Bystrov, deputy CEO of investment company Olma, said.
“We expect the MICEX to open with sales, which may lead the index into the range of 1,370–1,375 points, but further declining of the index is unlikely,” Finam analyst Anton Soroko said.
On Thursday, the MICEX shrank 0.51% to 1,381.99, and the RTS went down 0.64% to 1,253.00.
Investors will continue taking profit, and this trend can be supported by risks of further escalation of the Ukrainian crisis after the country’s central bank said it would suspend banking operations in the Donetsk Region, Roman Grinchenko, analyst at Investcafe, said.
However, Promsvyazbank’s senior analyst Oleg Shagov expects the domestic market to open flat amid mixed foreign background, as futures on the U.S. indexes are slightly gaining back Thursday’s losses, while the Asian floors are showing negative dynamics.
The U.S. will release data on new housing construction, consumer confidence index, and Michigan Consumer Sentiment index. The E.U. will release trade balance data.