Russian stocks close mixed with ruble dynamics as main factor

MOSCOW, Jun 28 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market closed mixed on Wednesday with the MOEX Russia Index remaining almost flat and the RTS Index contracting mainly because of the ruble’s fall against the other currencies, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index rose 0.15% to 2,780.92 and the RTS decreased 1.32% to 1,014.68.

“The MOEX Russia Index stayed near yesterday’s closing. The growth of the U.S. dollar against the ruble, which climbed above the threshold of 86 rubles, supported the exporters, but the external background limited the purchases with the futures for the S&P 500 Index losing 0.4%,” Vladimir Lyashchuk, senior analyst at Promsvyazbank, said.

Yevgeny Linchik, head of managing company Pervaya’s department for alternative investment, said that the RTS Index fell in line with the ruble’s fall, but said that some external support to the Russian market came from the oil market where the oil price grew slightly, even though it stayed close to the lowest level since 2023.

The Brent oil price rose by 1.48% to U.S. $73.38 per barrel as of 6.08 p.m. Moscow time, according to the ICE Exchange.

The oil prices remain under pressure from the monetary policies of the world’s central banks, and the ruble’s exchange rate is still undermined by the shortening of Russia’s trade surplus and by a possible decrease of the global prices for commodities, Linchik said.

Otkritie Broker’s leading analyst for global research Andrei Kochetkov said that the shares of mobile operator MTS plunged by 11.95% to 305.50 rubles after a dividend cut-off. But the fall significantly overshoots the dividends that the company will pay, which means that the recovery period will be a prolonged one, he said.

The shares of grocery retailer Magnit gained 1.53% to 4,911.50 rubles on media reports about a possible doubling of the company’s buyback offer for foreigners. Under the current offer, the company is ready to buy back 10% of its shares for 2,215 rubles apiece, Kochetkov said.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
MTS	-11.95	305.50	9.594
Sberbank	-0.47	240.08	6.230
Magnit	+1.53	4911.50	5.711
Lukoil	-0.37	5119.00	3.225
Surgutneftegas prefs	+1.15	40.39	2.865

(85.0504 rubles – U.S. $1)

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