Russian stocks increase on oil price advance, stronger ruble

MOSCOW, Dec 4 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market edged up on Wednesday to win back previous losses thanks to rising oil prices and an encouraging sentiment on the Western floors, analyst said.

The MOEX Russia Index grew 0.60% to 2,900.66 and the RTS rose 1.13% to 1,430.03.

“The Russian stock market managed to win back part of the previous day’s losses. The domestic shares were supported by the external background. The Brent oil price went up significantly to above U.S. $62 per barrel,” senior analyst at Promsvyazbank Bogdan Zvarich said.

Oil companies Surgutneftegas and Rosneft were among the best performers increasing 2.73% and 2.11%, respectively.

The local market was also supported by the dynamics of the Western floors. Main European indices added around 1.4% by the end of the trading session, and the U.S.’ Dow Jones and S&P500 benchmarks rose 0.7% in the first 30 minutes of trade, Zvarich added.

BCS Broker expert Dmitry Babin said that the MOEX Russia Index demonstrated a lower growth than the RTS Index due a significant ruble strengthening.

Below are the MOEX Russia Index’s five most active stocks on Wednesday:

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Gazprom	+0.4	248.93	14.796
Sberbank	+0.4	231.59	5.621
Lukoil	+0.55	6073	4.147
Surgutneftegas	+2.73	43.7	3.448
Norilsk Nickel	-0.34	17246	2.081

(64.1401 rubles – U.S. $1)

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