Russian stocks close mixed amid weak ruble, falling oil price
MOSCOW, May 27 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks closed mixed on Wednesday, with the RTS falling due to the ruble weakening and the MICEX growing despite an oil price drop, analysts said.
The MICEX rose 0.56% to 1,660.98 and the RTS decreased 1.26% to 1,012.21.
“The dollar-denominated RTS fell 1.26% on the back of a significant depreciation of the national currency,” Finam analyst Timur Nigmatullin said.
Despite Brent oil futures falling to slightly above U.S. $63 per barrel ahead of Thursday’s publication of the U.S. oil reserves statistics and on Iraq’s plans to boost oil output, weakening of the ruble contributed to the MICEX growth, analysts said.
The ruble remained under strong pressure because of decreasing oil prices and lost up to 1.3% against the U.S. dollar and the euro, InstaForex analyst Anton Fomin said.
Vozrozhdenie Bank’s preferred shares jumped 39.90% on the bank’s plans to merge with Absolut Bank and on reports that the bank’s preferred shares could be converted into common shares as part of the merger.
But the bank’s common shares fell 10% after the bank said its net profit plunged about 91% on the year to 40 million rubles in January–March, as calculated under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
Below are the MICEX’ five most active stocks on Wednesday:
Company | Change, % | Last price, rbl | Trading volume, bln rbl |
---|---|---|---|
Sberbank | -0.59 | 74.23 | 8.090 |
Promsvyazbank | 0 | 0.06200 | 6.903 |
VTB | +1.35 | 0.08260 | 6.278 |
Gazprom | +1.66 | 147.66 | 4.070 |
Lukoil | +1.35 | 2541.80 | 2.783 |
(50.3223 rubles – U.S. $1)
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