BLBG:Russia Stocks Decline First Day In Five As Crude Oil Retreats
Russian stocks fell for the first time in five days as retreatng crude prices outweighed investor optimism central banks from Europe to the U.S. will implement measures to boost growth.
The Micex Index (INDEXCF) retreated 0.3 to 1,423.87 by 10:46 a.m. in Moscow, erasing gains of 0.3 percent earlier and trimming its monthly advance to 2.6 percent. Russian steelmaker OAO Severstal dropped 1.8 percent while OAO Mobile TeleSystems fell 0.8 percent as a license halt was extended for three months at its Uzbekistan unit. OAO Mechel (MTLR) declined 1.2 percent after rallying 6.6 percent yesterday.
Crude oil, the nation’s chief export earner, declined 0.1 percent to $89.65 in New York, retreating for the second day. Oil and gas contribute about 50 percent of Russia’s state revenue. The U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank meet this week as the International Monetary Fund said Europe’s debt crisis is likely to be prolonged.
The Micex trades at 5.2 times estimated earnings, having gained 1.6 percent this year. That compares with a multiple of 9.8 times for companies in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which has added 4.4 percent this year.
Russian equities have the cheapest valuations based on estimated earnings among 21 emerging markets tracked by Bloomberg.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ksenia Galouchko in Moscow at kgalouchko1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net
