Russian stock recover from losses thanks to soft sanctions

MOSCOW, Feb 22 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market edged down at the opening on Tuesday following President Vladimir Putin’s decision to recognize the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics, but then started to recover in light of softer-than-expected sanctions, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index grew 1.58% to 3,084.74 and the RTS increased 1.59% to 1,226.69.

“Due to the strengthening sanctions risks after recognition of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics by Russia, the MOEX Russia Index started the day with a steep decline to 2,760, the lowest since 2020. But the market started to recover almost immediately,” Alexei Golovinov, chief analyst at PSB Bank, said.

Golovinov attributed the advance to Europe’s decisions to impose sanctions, which do not threaten the market’s fundamental profile.

“Russian stocks have turned to recovery, and the market managed to compensate part of the previous trading session’s losses, despite persisting geopolitical risks and a mixed foreign background,” senior analyst at financial supermarket Banki.Ru Bogdan Zvarich said.

The main U.S. benchmarks Dow Jones and S&P500 dropped by 0.7% and 0.4%, respectively, in the first 30 minutes of trading, major European bourses demonstrated a slight rise in the evening, and the Brent oil price added 2% to above U.S. $97 per barrel, he added.

Hydropower giant RusHydro and online retailer Ozon were among the best gainers, surging by over 14%. Realty developer LSR and oil major Rosneft underperformed, falling by 7.20% and 1.85%, respectively.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+4.98	211	147.3
Gazprom	+8.51	279.2	73.8
Lukoil	+2.75	5970	29.8
Rosneft	-2.29	428.65	29.4
Yandex	+7.49	3295.4	25.5

(76.7671 rubles – U.S. $1)

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