Russian markets are expected to open lower on Thursday amid negative background and declining oil prices.
Russian trades closed in the red on Wednesday, with mining and energy stock among losers. The MICEX dropped 2.4% and the RTS lost 2.9%. Leading the decline were MRSK Holding, shedding 3.75%, Novatek, which lost 3.69%, and Mechel, which fell 4.27%.
European stocks tumbled on Wednesday, after surging Spanish and Italian government bond yields sparked investor concerns on the eurozone debt crisis. The Stoxx Europe 600 index declined 2.1%, while Germany’s DAX 40 lost 2.84% and French CAC 30 shed 2.74%. US markets dropped on Wednesday amid disappointment on bond sales in Spain and lack of monetary stimulus from the Fed. The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 both lost 1%. The Nasdaq Composite shed 1.5% in its worst session in 2012. The data on unemployment for the last week is expected later on Thursday.
Asian stocks fell in early trading on Thursday, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng trading down 1.1%, returning from a holiday. The mainland Chinese banks performed weaker, weighed by Premier Wen Jiabao's criticism of the state-owned lenders' dominance in the financial sector. The Shanghai Composite fell slightly 0.2%. Japan’s Nikkei Stock dropped another 1.2%, while South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.7% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.1%.