Experts forecast hard time for Russian stock market in autumn

Stock analysts from the Prospect investment company commented on thesituation on Russian stock exchanges in an interview with RBC and notedthat the market was waiting for news from the US Federal Reserve System.Experts believe that no matter what news emerges, nothing positive shouldbe expected. In the event the US Federal Reserve System decides to lowerthe discount rate, this will testify to the weakness of the US economy andconfirm negative forecasts about the beginning of recession. If thediscount rate remains unchanged, this will disappoint the majority ofinvestors, because the current rate is rather unfavorable for them.According to the latest forecasts, the Federal Reserve System will notchange the discount rate, and then commentaries on the current situationfrom the reserve system's specialists will be the most important for themarket. To all appearances, FOMC (the Federal Open Markets Committee) willdecide to lower rates in the fourth quarter of this year, Prospect analystssaid.The Russian market is not standing away from these events, experts noted.They did not rule out that the RTS index would drop to 300 points, and thislevel would become a support one. The future dynamics on the Russian stockmarket will depend on the US market and the situation in the domesticeconomy. Another important factor will be the situation in Brazil, which isfar from being stable. Experts forecast that the upcoming autumn mightbecome a hard time for the Russian stock market and no rally should beexpected at the beginning of September..