Russian stocks close mixed amid unstable oil prices

MOSCOW, Dec 10 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks closed mixed on Thursday pressured by instability of global oil prices, analysts said.

The MICEX fell 0.01% to 1,732.89, while the RTS rose 0.05% to 792.78.

“The market remains under pressure of unstable oil, which can’t manage to consolidate over U.S. $40 per barrel,” Veles Capital analyst Alexander Kostyukov said.

Oil prices, which rebounded late Wednesday after the U.S. reported a reduction of its oil reserves, resumed contraction on Thursday.

“The oil price will most likely remain unstable over the next few days,” Kostyukov said. Investors will abstain from serious operations ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve System’s (Fed) next week’s meeting on key rate, he also said.

Troubled metals and mining company Mechel closed 2.06% higher after the company said that its board of directors had approved deals with its major creditors VTB Bank, Sberbank, Gazprombank and a syndicate of banks and that its shareholders would consider them at an extraordinary general meeting on March 4, 2016.

National flagship carrier Aeroflot rose 2.47% after Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday that a discounted 10% value-added tax duty will remain for domestic air traffic, Bank Obrazovanie’s senior analyst Vitaly Manzhos said.

The country’s largest carmaker AvtoVAZ decreased 0.2% on reports that it plans to switch to a 4-day work week fox six months starting from February 15, 2016.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-0.53	100.13	8.959
Gazprom	-0.15	135.60	3.525
Lukoil	+2.51	2445.00	2.583
Norilsk Nickel	-0.11	8925.00	1.831
Magnit	-0.35	11141.00	1.779

(69.2000 rubles – U.S. $1)

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