Rising ruble, oil, gas shares support Russian market

MOSCOW, Oct 20 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market edged up on Friday because the shares of some oil and gas companies and exporters received support from the oil prices and the growing ruble, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index rose 0.42% to 3,269.27 and the RTS increased 2.34% to 1,081.29.

“The foreign stock floors remained in the regime of flight from geopolitical risks on Friday, but the risks provided momentum to the prices for oil and gold at the same time … The MOEX Russia Index and the RTS Index finished the week on a positive note, while the ruble-denominated index growth was curbed by profit taking,” Veles Capital’s analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

“On the corporate front, purchases continued in the shares of oil companies in the past several days against the background of high oil prices and expectations of interim dividends. For instance, the shares of Lukoil hit a new historic record on the news about convening a board of directors meeting on October 26 in order to discuss payment for January–September, while oil company RussNeft reported a threefold growth of its net profit for the same period, she said.

Lukoil gained 0.20% to 7,501 rubles, while RussNeft increased by 0.35% to 171.90 rubles.

She also said that gold producer Seligdar fell by 2.59% to 81 rubles although the international gold prices climbed to U.S. $2,000 per ounce. Investors took profit, and the company’s board of directors recommended paying 2 rubles per share in dividends for January–September, providing a disappointing yield of 2.45%, Kozhukhova said.

“The Russian stock market ended the week with a growth … and showed great dynamics this week as the oil prices rose and thanks to good news from the One Belt – One Road forum in China. According to their statements, Russia and China may expand energy cooperation, which may have a good impact on the sector and the Russian economy in the medium term,” Anton Kravchenko, head of the stock managing department at managing company Pervaya, said.

The Brent oil price grew above $92 per barrel this week with the conflict in the Middle East remaining one of the key supporting factors, especially since no solution of the conflict is on the horizon. This is why the oil market may continue being volatile next week, he said.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
VK	-6.88	620.20	12.418
Mechel	-2.00	255.40	8.607
Sberbank	+0.47	269.90	7.512
Lukoil	+0.20	7501.00	6.415
Norilsk Nickel	+2.19	17156.00	5.559

(97.3074 rubles – U.S. $1)

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