Russian stocks close mixed on absence of drivers, oil price fall

MOSCOW, Jul 22 (PRIME) -- The Russian stocks closed in a mixed way on Wednesday as the market received

The MOEX Russia Index rose 0.32% to 2,834.65 and the RTS decreased 0.37% to 1,255.10.

“The trade on the Russian stock market started with a fall of indices due to a moderately negative external background. But during the day, buyers reappeared. The market continued to price in expectations of a possible key rate cut by the central bank this Friday,” Andrei Kochetkov, head analyst for global research at Otkritie Broker, said.

Yelena Kozhukhova, analyst at Veles Capital, said that the market closed mixed because it no drivers from abroad. She also said that the background for the Russian market was negative during the day, with the oil prices and the European indices falling.

“The Russian stocks spent the day with mixed external dynamics. The U.S. market grew by a fraction of a percent, while the leading European indices corrected downwards. Asia closed mixed, while the MSCI Emerging Markets index fell by 0.5% showing low demand for risky assets,” Freedom Finance analyst Valery Yemelyanov said.

Sales on the oil market hurt the RTS Index, while the MOEC Russia index gained support from the weak ruble, Yemelyanov added.

Kozhukhova also said that the American depositary receipts (ADRs) of payment service operator Qiwi jumped by 11.04% to 1,338 rubles on the news that it cancelled a secondary public offering.

Kochetkov also said that shares of gold producers Petropavlovsk Plc, Polymetal International, and Polyus gained 9.19% to 29.22 rubles, 2.53% to 1,550.50, and 2.50% to 13,821.50, respectively due to a continuous growth of gold prices.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+0.50	216.80	10.128
Lukoil	+1.17	5011.00	6.382
Norilsk Nickel	-0.99	18198.00	5.002
Gazprom	-0.2	186.41	4.056
Magnit	+0.38	4665.50	3.985

(70.9668 rubles – U.S. $1)

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