Russian stocks close mixed amid stronger ruble, rising oil

MOSCOW, Feb 2 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks closed mixed on Thursday amid a strengthened ruble and oil prices growing to almost U.S. $57 per barrel, analysts said.

The MICEX fell 0.63% to 2,217.56 and the RTS increased 0.33% to 1,171.42.

“Russia’s MICEX remained on the same wave with global benchmarks. Futures for the U.S., European, and Asian indices are mostly decreasing today,” Forex Club analyst Irina Rogova said.

Growth of the dollar-denominated RTS index was supported by the strengthened ruble and rising oil prices, analysts said.

Raiffeisen Capital analyst Sofya Kirsanova said oil prices were growing for a third consecutive day on OPEC and non-OPEC states reducing oil production by 1.4 million barrels a day in January.

Metals producers were among growth leaders, with aluminum giant UC RUSAL gaining 5.35% and metals giant Norilsk Nickel increasing by 4.13%.

Steelmaker Severstal lost 2.34% after reporting that its net profit decreased 27% on the quarter to $313 million in October-December 2016 as calculated under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-0.62	172.83	5.380
Norilsk Nickel	+4.13	10255.00	5.094
Gazprom	-0.57	148.80	3.064
Magnit	-2.11	9495.00	2.334
Rosneft	-1.05	397.30	2.080

(60.3099 rubles – U.S. $1)

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