Russian stocks close mixed on fresh sanctions rhetoric

MOSCOW, Aug 9 (PRIME) -- The Russian stocks market opened down on Thursday, but then managed to reverse to close mixed backed by strong exporters’ performance, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index grew 0.72% to 2,309.58 and the RTS fell 1.48% to 1,097.33.

“The Russian market was turbulent in the morning… due to (talks on) another set of anti-Russian restrictions… By the middle of the session the situation calmed down and the fall slowed down,” Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov.

On Wednesday, the U.S. said it would impose fresh sanctions on Russia for its alleged involvement in the Skripal poisoning case in the U.K.

According to sources, the first package of restrictions includes a full ban on imports of dual-use devices and component parts to Russia while the second tranche may include a ban on flights of national flagship carrier Aeroflot. The airline lost 1.92% to 109.7 rubles on the news.

Kochetkov also said that the domestic energy companies outperformed the market as the new sanctions drafts envisage no additional measures against them. The Moscow Exchange’s MICEXO&G energy index rose 0.84%.

Gazprom Neft jumped 4.24% to 329.40 rubles, Lukoil and Rosneft added 0.77% to 432.30 rubles and 2.20% to 4,598 rubles, respectively.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank, common	+1.4	195.9	30.284
Gazprom	+0.76	145.2	4.223
Lukoil	+2.2	4598	3.192
Norilsk Nickel	+1.56	10999	3.007
Sberbank, preferred	+0.15	170	2.974

(63.5950 rubles – U.S. $1)

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