Russian stocks close mixed on lower ruble, Brent oil price

MOSCOW, Dec 12 (PRIME) -- The Russia stocks closed mixed on Friday as exporting companies supported the oversold MICEX index, while the dollar-denominated RTS fell on the ruble weakening, analysts said.

The MICEX rose 0.32% to 1,460 and RTS decreased 3.01% to 799.

“By the end of the trading week the Russian stock indices were influenced by two major factors, including the ruble rate and the oil price dynamics,” Andrei Dirgin, head of Alfa-Forex analytic department, said.

The ruble decline was sped up by the Brent price, which fell below U.S. $63 per barrel the first time since 2009, Dirgin said.

Growth leaders included ALROSA, which rose 4.83% to 51.89 rubles on its promise to pay dividends despite losses from ruble devaluation and on the news that it has signed 12 long-term contracts with Indian diamond cutters and jewelry producers, Raiffeisen Capital analyst Sofiya Kirsanova said.

Another growth leader include nationalized oil company Bashneft, which rose 21.14% to 997.0 rubles, as Olga Dergunova, Federal State Property Management Agency’s Head, promised that no less than 25% of company’s profit under International Financial Reporting Standards will be allocated to annual dividends, Kirsanova said.

Russian oil major Rosneft also grew 1.32% as investors expect the privatization of a 19.5% stake in the company.

Loss leaders included AFK Sistema and MTS, which fell 3.95% to 6.32 rubles and 1.48% to 196.5 rubles, respectively, on market expectations that the companies may be forced to repay dividends it received from nationalized oil company Bashneft, the analyst said.

Below are the MICEX’ five most active stocks on Friday:

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-2.65	64.20	10.234
Lukoil	+3.09	2292.30	5.765
Gazprom	+0.36	134.49	5.485
VTB	+2.70	0.05700	4.566
Magnit	+1.08	10770	3.162

(54.7932 rubles – U.S. $1)

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