Mepel shares, which lost today more than 8 percent dropped the RTS index on the annual minimum

Today, the RTS index updated the annual minimum after the shares of the largest steel and mining Russian company Mechel lost more than 8 percent in price, and the papers of the Severstal fell 4 percent. The MICEX index to 11.41 Moscow time fell by 1.3 percent - to 1333.25 points, the RTS index - by 1.8 percent, to 1308.07 points. Thus, the RTS index has updated the minimum since July last year.

The deterioration of Russian indices caused a fall on the Asian exchanges, the continuing depreciation of oil and a slowdown in the Chinese economy, the main consumer of the Russian industry. "Russian indices fall against the backdrop of fears for further reduction in demand for raw materials from China, a key player in the energy market," analysts say. "Energy companies have a significant impact on the RTS index, and since Russia largely depends on the raw material market, its fall is most reflected in its economy."

"The situation is deteriorated by decreasing oil prices and, as a result, accelerated by the weakening of the ruble. The technical picture on the MICEX index as a whole looks pessimistic. The weekly closure of the index below 1363 creates a high probability of further decrease in the Local April minimum (1320)", the lead analyst at FC "Infin" Alexander predicts Alexander Ivanishchev.

In addition, from today, changes have come into force in the composition of the MSCI Russia index. The shares of Mechel, NLMK and Rossetei are excluded from the index, and the fraction of the papers of Magnit and Gazprom are slightly increased. However, the general situation in the market pulled down the Gazprom shares. The cost of a gas monopolist’s papers decreased by 1.92 percent.