TD Securities analysts point out that Fitch is due to review its BBB- (positive) sovereign rating for Russia and will be a key event for today’s markets.

“Moody's has a rating of Baa3 (stable) and S&P BBB- (stable). Fitch moved the outlook to positive from stable back in September 2017. Fitch has continued to point to the strong sovereign balance sheet and robust external finances, but US sanctions risk remains an ongoing concern which, in their view, keeps the rating one notch lower than it should be. It is possible that today Fitch finally decides that the positives outweigh the risks and moves the rating to BBB, although given the length of time that the outlook has been positive it is hard to have a great deal of conviction about this.”