Russian stocks close higher on corporate news, rising oil

MOSCOW, Oct 22 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks increased on Thursday receiving support from corporate news and growing oil prices, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index rose 0.61% to 2,803.17 and the RTS increased 1.03% to 1,155.24.

“The MOEX Russia Index and the RTS tried to remain in plus by the end of trading, which was mainly possible by corporate news,” Veles Capital analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

The foreign background was mixed. Trading in the U.S. started with growth of three main indices, which were trading mixed within 0.4% by the end of the Russian session. Moderately negative moods prevailed on European floors.

The nearest futures for Brent and WTI oil accelerated their growth by the end of trading in Russia and were adding slightly more than 2%.

Steel producers Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) and Severstal were among growth leaders, adding 4.82% and 5.21%, respectively. NLMK’s shares were recovering after publication of poor financial results on Wednesday, while Severstal’s shares increased on higher revenue and dividend recommendations.

Gold producer Petropavlovsk was among outsiders, losing 5.23% under pressure of reports about a criminal case against acting CEO.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-0.58	209.10	8.987
Gazprom	+0.43	165.07	6.271
Yandex	+0.02	4411.00	5.920
Norilsk Nickel	-0.7	19690.00	4.761
Lukoil	+2.08	4299.00	4.272

(77.0322 rubles – U.S. $1)

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