Russian stocks close mixed on ruble strengthening

MOSCOW, Dec 12 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market closed mixed on Tuesday because many shares corrected upwards, while the ruble strengthening supported the RTS index and dragged down the MOEX Russia Index, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index decreased 0.21% to 3,019.89, and the RTS index grew 0.77% to 1,056.02.

"The MOEX Russia Index and the RTS index managed to emerge to the green zone in the middle of the day thanks to the purchases in the shares near local lows, while the ruble-denominated indicator (the MOEX Russia Index) fell to its low since the second half of September at one moment," Veles Capital analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

"Many Russian shares need to erase short-term excessive sales, while the risks of development of a medium-term decrease will be confirmed if the MOEX Russia Index consolidates below 3,000," Kozhukhova said.

The RTS was supported by strengthening of the ruble, she said.

The analyst said that an upward correction from local lows in the majority of shares was not caused by "significant fundamental news."

Otkritie Research leading analyst for global research Andrei Kochetkov said that the real estate sector increased on the back of forecasts of developer Samolet. The company was an outsider among the competitors losing 0.16% after forecasting a 55% revenue growth to about 300 billion rubles in 2023.

Magnit was adding slightly during the day slightly after reporting that the retail area had exceeded 10 million square meters, the analyst said. At the session closure, the shares lost 0.6%.

MGKL, parent holding company of pawnshop chain Mosgorlombard, prolonged acceptance of bids for an initial public offering on the Moscow Exchange until December 21.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+1.12	259.76	14.355
Lukoil	+0.37	7002.5	8.943
Yandex class A	+1.79	2247.2	3.959
Gazprom	-1.44	162.5	3.785
Mechel	-0.6	276.7	2.875

(90.9846 rubles – U.S. $1)

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