Russian stocks close mixed on rising oil, mixed background

MOSCOW, Jun 28 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks closed mixed on Thursday amid rising oil prices, stronger ruble, and a moderately negative foreign background, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.15% to 2,250.26 and the RTS increased 0.03% to 1,125.13.

“The Russian market, which started trading with growth on Thursday, lost all the gained positions in the second half of the day and entered conditional negative. There were not many reasons for optimism and there was no support from foreign markets,” Veles Capital analysts said in a research note. Asian and the U.S. markets were showing near-zero dynamics, European stocks fell up to 2%.

Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said that the news about the planned meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump scheduled for July 16 did not evoke much enthusiasm among investors. The ruble remained stronger to the dollar and euro by the end of the day.

Oil quotations were gaining 0.6–1.5% receiving support from the fact of decreased reserves in the U.S., as well as prospects of disrupted supplies in Libya and Canada. Trading in Europe is pessimistic, she added.

Gold producer Polyus was among the growth leaders, adding 5.88% as France removed all charges from Suleiman Kerimov, the company’s majority owner.

The second biggest lender VTB Bank grew 1.01% after the bank said its net profit soared 73.9% on the year to 87.1 billion rubles in January–May, as calculated under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+0.26	208.50	9.801
Gazprom	-0.17	138.76	3.158
Lukoil	+0.2	4230.50	2.879
Norilsk Nickel	+0.14	11115.00	1.788
MTS	+0.24	267.35	1.605

(63.1359 rubles – U.S. $1)

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