MOSCOW: Russian stocks fell back on Thursday amid a general retreat from risk assets following a downgrade of Spain's rating and a poor start to the US earnings season, though a firm oil price supported the rouble.
At 0715 GMT the rouble-denominated MICEX index was down 0.2 percent to 1458.6 points, while the dollar-denominated RTS was down 0.3 percent to 1479.0 points.
Russia moved in line with other emerging markets, which fell after Standard & Poor's cut Spain's sovereign rating by two notches on Wednesday, while a weak earnings report from US aluminium producer Alcoa has underscored slowing growth in Asia.
"It looks like the Russian market will once again show a weak dynamic during the course of the trading session, on the background of investors' fears that present share prices aren't supported by global fundamentals," wrote BKS analyst Mark Bradford in a research note.
Fast-expanding Russian retailer Magnit bucked the negative market trend, rising 0.6 percent, a day after publishing bullish nine-month sales results.
But larger London-listed Russian retailer X5 disappointed expectations on Thursday with a 10.4 percent year-on-year rise in third quarter sales.
The rouble was weaker against the dollar but stronger against the euro, which has fell globally after Spain's downgrade, leaving the rouble stable against its euro-dollar currency basket.
At 0715 GMT the rouble was down 0.2 percent to 31.15 against the dollar, up 0.2 percent to 40.06 against the euro, and unchanged at 35.16 against the basket .
The rouble was supported by a firm oil price, with Brent creeping up to $115 per barrel.
The yield on Russia's benchmark 2030 Eurobond was marginally tighter at 2.84 percent, compared with 2.86 percent on Wednesday.
Copyright Reuters, 2012
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