Russia’s benchmark stock index has increased to its highest level since the incursion into Ukraine in February last year, a sign that investors still have confidence despite the lingering geopolitical uncertainties.
As of Monday, the MOEX Russian Index rose by 0,9% to 3361,50 points, the best result since February 24, 2022. In a similar fashion, the RTS index in the dollar equivalent climbed up by 0.9% recording a level of 1,147.5 points.
However, the Russian ruble, on its part, demonstrated its resilience, rising by 0.2% to 92.29 against the dollar. Analysts, however, argue that the currency may run into some trouble in the short run.
Yevgeny Loktyukhov (Promsvyazbank) noticed the possibility of pressures because of the finish of a beneficial month-end tax period and additionally anticipation of pent-up money demand for dollars and euros in the United States and Europe following the Easter break.
Nevertheless, the ruble had diverse outcomes versus most big currencies. It increased its value by 0.1% against euro and rose to 99.53, but it fell by 0.1% against the yuan to 12.69.
Amid the global oil market, Brent, a key export commodity for Russia, was down slightly; it went down by 0.3% to $86.71 per barrel; whereas West Texas Intermediate, a similar kind of Virginian crude oil, rebounded, with a slight gain of 0.1% to $80 per barrel.
This extraordinary Russian stock growth contradicted the experts’ views, demonstrating the high degree of investor optimism in the midst of the unresolved geopolitical challenges. The resilience of the Russian market, alongside the only slight growth in the rouble shows that the investors have a cautiously positive attitude towards the economic outlook of the country, despite the fact that Russia’s economy encounters various issues on the international level.
The wider consequences of these trends will take a while to become clearer, as geopolitical factors interact with the investors sentiments and the stock market volatility. In contrast, Russian stocks are proving to be unpredictable, reaching a height that has not been witnessed over the past two years, and the market observers are also quite surprised.
