Russian stocks close mixed amid low oil prices, weak ruble

MOSCOW, Oct 14 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks closed mixed on Wednesday on the back of falling oil prices, the ruble’s depreciation, and a Chinese economic slowdown, analysts said.

The MICEX rose 0.13% to 1,723.01 and the RTS decreased 0.37% to 863.31.

“Trading on the Russian floors opened with a decrease of indexes today, but later oil prices’ attempt to rebound from the level of U.S. $49 per barrel revived purchases of Russian securities, which allowed the MICEX index to fully compensate morning losses and enter a positive territory,” Bogdan Zvarich, an analyst at investment company Finam, said.

“The ongoing depreciation of the ruble has again become a stimulus for relatively weak dynamics of the RTS index,” Vitaly Manzhos, a senior analyst at Bank Obrazovanie, said.

Brent fell to slightly below $49 per barrel as Moscow trading closed on the back of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) expectations for the world’s oil markets to remain oversupplied next year, as demand growth slows amid an expected return of Iranian oil.

Shares of national flagship carrier Aeroflot were among leaders on Wednesday, closing 5.55% higher, continuing an upward trend that started after the firm’s recent decision to drop a deal to buy troubled airline Transaero, Zvarich said. Transaero declined 6.6%.

Retailer Dixy rose 3.80% after reporting that its revenue increased 17.1% on the year to 21.4 billion rubles in September.

Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) added 0.98% despite a 6.2% contraction in steel output in January–September.

Oil and gas pipe maker TMK closed 0.40% higher despite reporting a 7.1% decline in pipe sales in January–September.

Below are the MICEX’ five most active stocks on Wednesday:

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+2.13	86.81	9.789
Norilsk Nickel	-0.15	9700.00	3.986
Gazprom	+0.15	142.01	3.630
Lukoil	-0.38	2341.00	2.972
Magnit	+0.25	11810.00	1.599

(62.2237 rubles – U.S. $1)

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