Russian stocks close mixed on recovery of oil prices

MOSCOW, Dec 7 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market closed mixed on Wednesday as the oil price started to recover, while Cherkizovo Group and Sistema promised to pay dividends, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.15% to 2,192.88 and the RTS increased 0.17% to 1,098.93.

“The session of the Russian stock market on December 7 started with a fall, but the market switched into mixed dynamics in the evening … The downward correction of the national market stopped because the oil prices restarted their growth, and because of releases of robust financial results and of dividend announcements by some companies,” Freedom Finance Global leading analyst Natalya Milchakova said.

The Brent oil price gained 0.44% to U.S. $79.7 per barrel following the visit of China’s President Xi Jinping to Saudi Arabia, she said.

“The Russian stock market climbed from the intra-day lows before the end of the trade session because of purchases in the shares of some companies and because of a better mood on the commodity bourses,” Veles Capital analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

The shares of meat producer Cherkizovo Group gained 1.99% to 2,927 rubles as the company’s shareholders approved dividends for 2021 of 148.05 per share on Tuesday, Kozhukhova said.

Multi-industry holding Sistema grew by 1.40% to 12.64 rubles after the company’s core shareholder Vladimir Yevtushenkov said that the company may pay dividends for 2022, she said.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+1.16	142.24	8.933
Magnit	0.00	4475.50	2.909
Norilsk Nickel	+1.92	15000.00	1.715
Gazprom	-0.07	164.19	1.690
VTB	+1.23	0.016915	1.418

(62.9103 rubles – U.S. $1)

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