Russian stocks close higher on rising oil prices, falling ruble

MOSCOW, Apr 17 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market grew on Monday with the shares receiving support from high oil prices and promises of dividends, while the recent weakening of the ruble continued to add momentum to the shares of some companies, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index rose 1.61% to 2,596.11 and the RTS increased 2.21% to 1,004.62.

“On Monday, the Russian stock market rose consistently throughout the day … Good news came from the oil market. International media reported that the price of the Urals oil blend jumped by 40% to U.S. $61.5 per barrel over the past month, while the Brent oil price gained only 18% in the period,” Freedom Finance Global leading analyst Natalya Milchakova said.

This discrepancy shows that demand for Russian oil is still high in the world and that the Russian government was right in reducing the Urals price discount against the Brent price from April 1. It may have a positive impact on energy revenue of the Russian budget, she said.

Sofya Kirsanova, portfolio manager at managing company Pervaya, said that promises of dividend payment by some companies also stimulated purchases.

“The Beluga shareholders approved a final dividend payment for 2022 at 400 rubles per share, meaning the current dividend yield amounts to around 8.6%,” Kirsanova said.

Alcohol producer Beluga Group gained 1.43% to 4,553 rubles.

“We should note that the market grew thanks to the weak ruble to a large extent. Certainty that the Russian currency will correct is decreasing as the U.S. dollar stabilizes above 80 rubles,” Otkritie Research’s leading analyst for global research Andrei Kochetkov said.

“This is why the commodity stocks like Gazprom, Lukoil, Rosneft, and gold producers are popular.”

He also said that the international gold prices rose on expectations of a reform of the global currency system, which provides additional support to the shares of Russian gold companies. Polyus grew by 5.37% to 10,363.50 rubles, Seligdar went up by 2.16% to 50.63 rubles, and the preferred shares of Lenzoloto added 1.71% to 3,570 rubles.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+2.15	226.63	14.412
Polyus	+5.37	10363.50	5.712
Gazprom	+1.15	181.57	4.355
VTB	+3.66	0.01938	3.435
Lukoil	+0.69	4650.00	2.497

(81.5045 rubles – U.S. $1)

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