The last week of March started in the “red” on the Russian stock market – investors were reacting to the tragic events at the end of the previous week, and for most of the day, the market remained bearish. However, by the evening, bulls found the current levels attractive for buying in some securities, so by the end of the trading session, the indices turned to the “green side”: the Moscow Exchange index rose by 0.25% to 3281.63 points, while the dollar-denominated RTS added 0.23%, closing at 1115.63 points.
The positive momentum on the local market on Monday, March 25, was supported by the dynamics of oil prices, which continue to trade at levels seen in recent weeks, staying near annual highs. According to data from Baker Hughes, the number of active drilling rigs in the US decreased last week, indicating a slight reduction in production in the country. With the approaching tourist season, there is an increase in demand for fuel. In the evening, Brent futures were priced at $86.58 per barrel (+1.06%), while Light was at $81.81 (+0.76%).
The ruble also started the new week with a significant weakening – in the morning, the dollar set a weekly high at 93.29 rubles. However, the Russian currency received support from the tax period – its peak coincides with Mondays and Thursdays. As a result, during the currency session on the Moscow Exchange, the dollar weakened by 0.23% to 92.58 rubles, the euro increased by 0.13% to 100.42 rubles, and the yuan strengthened by 0.22% to 12.77 rubles.
Leaders in growth again on Monday were shares of DWMK (+5.29%). Leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global Natalia Milchakova suggested that the stock is rising based on illusory dividends for now. According to her, there were reports on social media that DWMK could be fully integrated into the structure of “Rosatom.” If this were to happen, DWMK would automatically become a state-owned company and would be required to pay dividends of at least 50% of net profit according to IFRS, like other public state-owned companies do. The expert refrains from evaluating how likely this scenario is at the moment, as it is more about expectations and hypotheses. However, Natalia notes that the company’s reporting is doing fine, and in 2024, the growth of the container market will have a positive impact on its financial results.
Shares of PIK Group (+4.37%) also showed good growth on Monday, despite reports that the board of directors recommended not to pay dividends for 2023. In addition, the board members voted to prematurely terminate the powers of CEO Ivan Polandov due to the inclusion of PIK Group in the SDN list last month.
Other stocks that performed well on Monday were OGK-2 (+4.47%), Yandex (+4.08%), Sistema (+3.64%), Severstal (+3.53%), Nornickel (+3.11%), Magnit (+3.1%).
Among the underperformers of the day were Etalon shares (-7.3%) – the issuer published its financial statements for 2023 according to IFRS today, which showed that the company’s net loss reached 3.4 billion rubles, compared to a net profit of 13 billion rubles the previous year. However, the developer’s revenue in 2023 increased by 10% to 88.8 billion rubles.
Negative dynamics were observed in Sovcomflot shares (-1.14%) following reports that the largest operator of oil refineries in India refused to receive oil transported by tankers of the Russian company due to US sanctions.
Stocks that traded lower at the beginning of the week included Segezha (-2.9%), Tatneft (ordinary -0.84%, preferred -0.65%), RUSAL (-0.82%), Akron (-0.78%), RusHydro (-0.72%).
Global markets also started the new week with moderately negative dynamics.
European exchanges closed mostly slightly lower. The American market is currently trading in the “red sector,” correcting after hitting historic highs last week. Monday’s statistics turned out to be weaker than expected – new home sales in the US in February decreased by 0.3% to 662,000, while analysts had forecasted an increase to 675,000.