MOSCOW, January 17. /TASS/. The Russian stock indices declined moderately on Tuesday, despite the rise in oil prices and the weakness of the ruble.
By the end of the main trading session on the Moscow Exchange, the MOEX index decreased by 1.26% to 2,196.84 points, the dollar-denominated RTS index fell by 2.11%, to 1,002.85 points.
The dollar-to-ruble exchange rate rose by 0.52% to 68.95 rubles, the euro rate went up by 0.55% to 74.57 rubles, the yuan rate edged up by 0.02% to 10.17 rubles.
"Probably, after the active growth the day before, some investors preferred to take profits," assumed Alexander Bakhtin, an investment strategist at BCS World of Investments.
Meanwhile, external signals were ambiguous.
"A block of macro indicators for China, including an estimate of GDP for 2022, industrial production and retail sales in December, turned out to be noticeably better than forecasts, and [Germany’s] ZEW economic sentiment index for the eurozone went into the positive zone for the first time since April last year," the expert explained.
Positive statistics, especially in China, was backed by rising oil prices, he added.
The price of the nearest futures for Brent crude rose by 2.4% to $86 per barrel.
However, caution has grown on world stock exchanges.
"During the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, a survey was conducted among economists and heads of large companies, most of them expect a decline in economic activity this year, and 18% of those surveyed allow a global recession," Bakhtin also said.
Stock market
On Tuesday, the growth leaders of the Russian stock market were shares of the transport sector, mainly maritime transport and ports: shares of NCSP (Novorossiisk Commercial Sea Port) rose (+10.3%), "probably in anticipation of the redirection of Russia's export flows from the west to the east and south," as well as shares of Sovcomflot (+7%), "due to media reports that the Russian government is preparing to abolish VAT on ship repair work," said Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global.
The shares of the Raspadskaya coal company (+3.1%) rose in price "due to the underestimation of this issuer and reports of an increase in coal production in Russia by 0.3% in 2022, despite the sanctions," the expert also noted.
The leaders of decline were depository receipts CIAN (-3.7%) after rapid growth at the beginning of the week. Depositary receipts of the VK group (-2.9%) and shares of the energy company DEK (-2.6%) fell in price without news.
Forecast for tomorrow
The middle of the week will be full of important publications and statistics. In particular, tomorrow at 10:00 p.m. Moscow time the Fed's Beige Book will be published.
"It gives a general idea of economic trends and problems in the US, being one of the benchmarks for the regulator when making decisions on short-term interest rates," Alexander Bakhtin explained.
The International Energy Agency will present its monthly report on Wednesday. In the eurozone data on the growth rate of consumer prices in December will be published, in the US producer price index (PPI) and industrial production over the past month will become known.
On Wednesday, January 18, BCS World of Investments expects the MOEX Index to be in the range of 2,150-2,250 points, the dollar-to-ruble rate to be 68-70 rubles.