Russian equities are expected to react strongly to global uncertainty over eurozone stability and weaker economic data from Asia.
Russian indices closed in positive territory Friday, boosted by commodities and automakers. The MICEX added 0.36% and the RTS gained 0.15%.Continued uncertainty about Spain’s finances and the country’s looming bailout pushed down European stock markets on Friday. The Stoxx Europe 600 dropped 1.2%. The IBEX 35 index dropped 1.3%, led by banking shares – an independent crash test revealed that Spanish banks require around 60 billion euros to recapitalize. France’s CAC 40 dropped 2.5% after the government announced a tough 2013 budget aimed at 30 billion euros in austerity savings.US stocks fell Friday after a review of business activity in the Midwest showed unexpected contractions. The Dow Jones fell 0.4%, the S&P 500 lost 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.7%.Japanese shares also ended in the red Monday after the Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan survey showed a downturn in business sentiment among large manufacturers. Weak manufacturing activity in China, Japan's biggest export market, also dented confidence. The Nikkei declined 1.1%. Markets in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul were closed for a holiday.