MOSCOW, July 25. /TASS/. The Russian stock market ended the trading session on Thursday with the mixed trend, according to Moscow Exchange data.
The MOEX Russia Index lost 0.34% to 3,041.37 points. The RTS Index added 0.99% to 1,121.76 points. The yuan dropped by 0.044% to 11.76 rubles.
"The ruble had even stronger reinforcement of its position on Thursday, while prices of oil and other commodities were going straight down. Considering such an adverse combination, the market correction seems fairly restrained," Alexander Bakhtin from BCS Investment World says.
The external sentiment remained predominantly negative. "The July business climate index (IFO) of Germany stood at 87 points, lower than 88.9 points expected. The US GDP, according to a preliminary estimate, gained 2.8% in annual terms in the second quarter, which is much stronger than forecasted 2%," the expert adds.
Securities of Bank St. Petersburg were the growth leader in the afternoon because the supervisory board of the bank approved the buyback for 20 mln ordinary stocks earlier today, Vladimir Chernov from Freedom Finance Global said. Rusagro stocks lost 1.8%. "Trading in their depositary receipts will be halted soon on the Moscow Exchange for six months amid the initiated process of company’s redomiciliation to Russia; stockholders therefore are freeing cash, not desiring its freeze for such a long period," the expert added.
The meeting of the Board of the Bank of Russia on the key rate will the top event in the Russian market at the end of the week. "Flash data of the Russian statistical service point to inflation slowdown. This makes it possible to await a less tough decision of the regulator," BCS Investment World said. The MOEX Russia Index is expected to be in the range from 3,000 to 3,100 points, Freedom Finance Global and BCS Investment World forecast.