Russian stocks close mixed amid volatile oil, low activity

MOSCOW, Aug 17 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks closed mixed on Thursday amid volatile oil prices and low investor activity in the vacations period, analysts said.

The MICEX went down 0.07% to 1,941.52 and the RTS increased 0.36% to 1,034.05.

“The Russian stock market traded with an insignificant increase on low volumes by the middle of the day. The vacations season has an impact on activity of trade participants, that’s why we can’t speak about any stable trends,” Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov said.

Finam expert Vasily Oleinik said oil prices remained under pressure for a second consecutive day after the U.S. Energy Ministry’s data showed the oil output growth by 76,000 barrels, but resumed growing by the end of the trading day.

Fertilizer producer Acron was among growth leaders, having increased 5.53% on reports that its board of directors recommended paying 235 rubles per share, or 9.525 billion rubles, in dividends using undistributed profit of previous years.

Telecommunications companies were among outsiders, with MegaFon losing 1.65% and MTS falling 0.23% on the back of reports that the Communications and Mass Media Ministry is preparing a bill to limit foreign ownership of Internet exchange points, Oleinik said.

Otkritie Financial Corporation (FC) Bank lost 0.25% after Moody’s put the bank’s ratings on review for downgrade. The move follows an expert report by Alfa Capital that warned its clients about problems at the bank.

Chelyabinsk Pipe-Rolling Plant (ChelPipe) gained 6% despite reporting that its net profit fell 64% on the year to 2.101 billion rubles in January–June, 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	-0.19	172.72	4.513
Otkritie FC Bank	-0.25	1565.00	2.802
Gazprom	-0.45	116.22	1.934
Rosneft	-0.1	301.75	1.587
Norilsk Nickel	+0.49	8768.00	1.469

(59.6521 rubles – U.S. $1)

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