Russian stock indices decline on global pessimism

MOSCOW, May 29 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks decreased on Tuesday in line with European indices amid a worsening political crisis in Italy caused by disagreements over formation of a new government, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.57% to 2,298.00 and the RTS decreased 1.05% to 1,154.90.

“In Europe, ‘the Italian drama’ continues. The Italian bond yields are growing, while the country’s stock market is falling by 3%. Amid such background, the wave of sales touched almost all the floors – the Russian stock market was no exception. However, domestic pessimism did not show itself on such a large scale,” Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov said.

Oil major Gazprom Neft lost 0.39% despite reporting that its net profit attributable to shareholders rose 12.4% on the year to 69.665 billion rubles in January–March, as calculated under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Construction company Mostotrest added 1.64% after its board of directors recommended paying 3.003 billion rubles, or 10.64 rubles per common share, in dividends for 2017.

Shares of container shipping company TransContainer decreased 0.89% after the company said its IFRS net profit grew 7.5% on the year to 1.146 billion rubles in January–March.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-0.86	219.00	7.867
Lukoil	-1.54	4224.00	3.540
Gazprom	-0.82	143.90	2.531
FIVE-GDR	-3.92	1840.00	2.336
Novatek	+2.85	825.40	1.676

(62.2710 rubles – U.S. $1)

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