The Gazprom share price increased sharply as Russia reopened the Moscow Stock Exchange. The GAZP stock jumped to R258, which was substantially higher than the year-to-date low of R126. As a result, the shares are just a few points below their highest point this year. Other Russian stocks that restarted trading like Rosneft and VTB also did well.
Buy the GAZP dip?
Gazprom is one of the biggest companies in Russia. As a result, the firm has been in the spotlight after the country invaded Ukraine. It has been impossible to trade the stock in Moscow after the central bank shut the stock market. At the same time, its listings in London and New York have also been suspended. The Moscow exchange partially reopened on Thursday and caught many investors off-guard as many shares jumped.
There are several reasons why this situation happened. First, Gazprom and other energy companies have continued doing business, considering that oil and gas have not been sanctioned. As a result, the firm has benefited from high oil and gas prices. Besides, the crude oil price has jumped to $120, and some analysts expect it will rise to $200 if Europe decides to block Russian oil and gas.
Second, some investors took advantage of the remarkable drop to buy the dip. Besides, they believe that Gazprom is one of Russia’s too-big-to-fail companies and that the government will not let it collapse. Third, the government has pledged to buy stocks to boost their prices after western investors left.
Most importantly, the central bank banned foreign shareholders from selling and shorting the stock. Also, there is talk that Chinese companies will buy stakes of western companies like Shell that have announced that they will exit the country. China is also expected to keep buying Russian oil. Another important thing is that the higher gas prices will help to offset the losses of the halted Nord Stream 2 project.
Gazprom share price forecast
The Gazprom stock price jumped sharply as it ended the day at 258. At its peak, it even retested the important resistance level at 282. It is also slightly below the 100-day volume-weighted moving average (VWMA) while its Historical Volatility indicator has jumped. Therefore, while the GAZP share price is expected to be highly volatile, there is a likelihood that its stock will keep rising as investors target the key resistance at R300.
