MOSCOW, September 20. /TASS/. The Russian stock market fell on Tuesday under the influence of several news. Thus, the MOEX and RTS indices fell to mid-August levels, losing more than 10%. According to experts, investors were primarily influences by media reports about the Russian government considering the possibility of increasing the tax burden on export companies.
In particular, it was proposed to increase the export duty on gas to 50%, introduce a duty or its equivalent for LNG exports, raise gas prices within Russia and withdraw additional revenues from gas companies by increasing the mineral extraction tax, Veles Capital analyst Elena Kozhukhova said. The decision could bring an additional 1.4 trillion rubles ($23.01 bln) to the budget in 2023, and more than 3 trillion rubles ($49.3 bln) in 2023-2025.
Against this background, Novatek had particularly large losses, and its shares have declined to a minimum since the beginning of August. According to Kozhukhova, the market is concerned that the government's proposal may result in, among other things, the cancellation of already announced dividends from Novatek and other oil and gas companies like Tatneft and Gazprom.
In terms of geopolitical news, investors were concerned about the news surrounding the situation in Ukraine and the State Duma adopting several amendments on military service and mobilization.
At the same time, in the afternoon, decline on the Russian stock market subsided, the MOEX and RTS indices recovered, returning to 2,250 and 1,180 points, respectively.
"If tax and geopolitical risks materialize in the coming days, the medium-term prospects for Russian stocks will also worsen, these factors now play the main role for the local market. In the current market situation, it makes sense to monitor intraday movements and try to capitalize on high volatility, the situation is changing very quickly," Elena Kozhukhova believes.