Russian stocks close flat on Friday due to strong ruble

MOSCOW, Sep 20 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market closed flat on Friday as a positive external background was balanced by the strengthening of the ruble exchange rate that undermined the price of shares of Russian exporters, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index rose 0.06% to 2,796.41 and the RTS decreased 0.05% to 1,377.38.

“The external background for the Russian market was moderately positive during the day. The Brent oil price gained slightly less than 1% due to the uncertainty around oil supplies from Saudi Arabia,” Veles Capital’s analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

“The trade at the bourses of Europe was optimistic…The mood of market players remains favorable in general due to stimulus measures of the largest central banks of the world,” she said.

But Otkritie Broker’s senior analyst Andrei Kochetkov said that the strengthening of the ruble did not allow the markets to grow. “The leading central banks are aiming their policies at cutting rates, which keeps the ruble’s status of one of the most attractive high-yield currencies in the world, this supposes the increase of the inflow of speculative and longer-term capital to the national bond market,” he said.

The ruble gained 3.50 kopecks to 63.9700 rubles per U.S. dollar and 21.75 kopecks to 70.4225 rubles per euro as of 5.40 p.m. Moscow time, according to data of the Moscow Exchange.

Kochetkov also said that strengthening of the ruble had a negative impact on shares of Russian exporters, with Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) falling 1.99%, steelmaker Severstal contracting 0.21%, diamond mining giant ALROSA shrinking 2.13%, and gas giant Gazprom decreasing 0.05%.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-1.27	232.00	9.437
Lukoil	+1.82	5489.00	8.606
Gazprom	-0.05	230.41	7.966
Tatneft	+0.92	748.70	2.243
Norilsk Nickel	+1.09	16128.00	2.111

(64.2199 rubles – U.S. $1)

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