Oil above $37, rising global trading floors back Russian stocks

MOSCOW, Mar 4 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks increased on Friday as the Brent crude oil price broke through a U.S. $37 notch and were supported by E.U. and U.S. statistics, which also helped global trading floors to rise, analysts said.

The MICEX rose 1.05% to 1,878.29 and the RTS increased 2.46% to 818.25.

Igor Kovalyov, an analyst at InstaForex, said that the Russian stock market finished the week with a moderate growth, following a rise of European and Asian trading floors; the benchmarks were supported by oil prices, which exceeded $37 per barrel.

Vasily Tanurkov, an analyst at Veles Capital, said that oil prices increased, backed by German construction and retail figures, EU retail data and U.S. labor statistics, and also because investors expect that China may announce new stimulating measures soon.

The rise of the dollar-denominated RTS was technically sped up by the ruble strengthening against the U.S. dollar.

Debt-ridden metals and mining giant Mechel, whose shareholders failed to agree on debt restructuring, plunged 7.23% to 64 rubles.

Vitaly Manzhos, a senior analyst at Bank Obrazovanie, said that oil companies rose on the back of stabilization of oil prices. Oil major Rosneft rose 2.72% to 302.25 rubles, Lukoil grew 2.78% to 2,775 rubles and Tatneft increased 2.17% to 348.40 rubles.

Flag carrier Aeroflot surged 6.3% to 65.49 rubles, after breaking through a resistance level of about 62 rubles, the expert said.

LSR Group, whose board of directors suggested paying high dividends for 2015, went up 2.35% to 653 rubles, Manzhos said.

Chelyabinsk Pipe-Rolling Plant (ChelPipe) rose 2.9% to 43.2 rubles after publishing strong financial results for 2015: the company’s net profit more than tripled to 5.389 billion rubles, as calculated under Russian Accounting Standards (RAS).

Promsvyazbank, whose net loss widened to 16.4 billion rubles, as calculated under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), fell 0.74% to 0.067 rubles.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+1.87	108.99	9.097
Gazprom	+1.15	146.16	4.868
Norilsk Nickel	+1.20	9300.00	2.895
Lukoil	+2.78	2775.00	2.783
Rosneft	+2.72	302.25	2.066

(73.8242 rubles – U.S. $1)

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