Russian stocks close mixed as ruble decreases

MOSCOW, Aug 15 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market closed mixed on Monday as the fall of the ruble caused the MOEX Russia Index and the RTS Index to move in different directions, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index rose 0.83% to 2,165.12 and the RTS decreased 0.30% to 1,112.93.

“The Russian stock market closed in a mixed way on Monday. The ruble-denominated MOEX Russia Index grew in spite of the fall of oil prices, while the U.S. dollar–denominated RTS Index fell as the U.S. dollar improved its positions,” Anton Kravchenko, senior portfolio manager at managing company Pervaya, said.

The market is cautious, and the investor mood on the international stock floors is mixed. The Asian bourses mainly gained, excluding the Chinese bourses, which fell because of poor macro statistics, while the European indices ended the day mixed, and the U.S. bourses started the Monday trade flat, Kravchenko said.

“The Russian market ended the day mixed as the MOEX Russia Index firmed on the background of the ruble’s weakening. No noticeable drivers for continuous growth have emerged, but investors are not eager to take their profits both in spite of a slowdown of the rally of the international stock markets and in spite of a fall of prices for oil and industrial metals,” Finam analyst Igor Dodonov said.

The access of foreigners from the so-called friendly countries to the bond market and the start of conversion of depositary receipts of Russian companies into their shares are yet to exert pressure on the stock market, Dodonov said.

Otkritie Research leading analyst Andrei Kochetkov said that the consumer sector remained one of the most obvious ideas on the Russian stock market, as the volume of consumer lending has been steadily rising in April–July since the March fall. Retailers Fix Price and X5 Retail Group gained 5.83% to 388.40 rubles and 3.57% to 1,334 rubles, respectively, he said.

The SPB Exchange increased by 22.97% to 211.50 rubles as the bourse plans to expand the number of foreign securities traded through it to 350 from 200 starting from Wednesday, Kochetkov said.

Below are the MOEX Russia Index’ five most active stocks on Monday:

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Gazprom	+0.25	174.80	3.213
Sberbank	+0.10	125.00	3.150
SPB Exchange	+22.97	211.50	2.591
Tatneft	+0.57	425.00	1.639
Lukoil	+0.47	3959.00	1.361

(60.8993 rubles – U.S. $1)

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