Idealess Russian stocks close mixed as oil price slides

MOSCOW, May 27 (PRIME) -- Idealess Russian stocks closed mixed on Friday as the external background provided them with no significant drivers for any kind of movement, while a slight contraction of oil prices was not perceived as a strictly negative factor, analysts said.

The MICEX rose 0.69% to 1,927.58 and the RTS decreased 0.14% to 917.52.

The Brent oil price slid 0.998% to U.S. $49.10 per barrel as of 6.03 p.m. Moscow time, according to the ICE exchange.

“The local market switched to idealess consolidation almost immediately after the start of the trading…on the basis of a rather indistinct external background. Contraction of oil prices acted as the only significant factor…But it was not perceived as a strong negative factor. The oil contracts only retracted from recent mid-term records,” Vitaly Manzhos, a senior analyst at Bank Obrazovanie, said.

It looks like investors switched to a standby mode before an OPEC summit scheduled for June 2. Statements of Saudi Arabian and Iranian officials indicate that agreements on contraction of oil production quotas may not be reached at the meeting, so it is likely that supply continue to exceed demand on the market, Irina Rogova, an analyst at Forex Club group of companies, said.

Shares of retailer Magnit increased 2.88% to 9,466 rubles as the company continues to increase the amount of stores and sales area, while the contraction of the share price in April was only connected with a decrease of the revenue growth, Manzhos said.

Preferred shares of biggest bank Sberbank also grew 1.33% to 88.56 rubles. The shares were still under effect of recent publication of strong financial results for January–March, and on Friday, the bank’s shareholders approved paying a total of 44.5 billion rubles, or 1.97 per share, in dividends for 2015, a fourfold increase against 2014, Manzhos said.

Shares of power utility Russian Grids outperformed the market and went up 2.05% to 0.636 rubles as investors expect a positive outcome for the company’s dividend payment for January–March, Igor Kovalyov, an analyst at InstaForex group of companies, said.

Below are the MICEX’ five most active stocks on Friday:

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+0.79	133.20	11.593
Gazprom	+0.68	149.88	4.499
Lukoil	+0.15	2682.00	2.074
Sberbank prefs	+1.33	88.56	1.438
Magnit	+2.88	9466.00	1.376

(65.2062 rubles – U.S. $1)

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