Russian stocks continue growth together with Western bourses

MOSCOW, Dec 9 (PRIME) – The Russian stocks continued their growth on Wednesday together with the Western bourses and on support from oil prices, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index rose 1.01% to 3,211.66 and the RTS increased 0.57% to 1,372.47.

“The Western stock floors were moderately optimistic on Wednesday, and the national bourses joined their optimism. The MOEX Russia Index finished the day above 3,200, the first time since January, which is an inspiring, but also a concerning event. It warns us about the relevance of correctional risks,” Yelena Kozhukhova, analyst at Veles Capital, said.

The European stock indices grew after a slight contraction at the beginning of the week as investors are waiting for the European Central Bank to announce expansion of stimulation measures at a Thursday meeting. The futures for the U.S. stock indices also edged up during the day as American investors hope that the congress approves another monetary incentives soon, Kozhukhova said.

Konstantin Bushuyev, senior investment strategist at Otkritie Broker, said that the oil price, the backbone of the Russian market, was still growing in reaction to the OPEC+ compromise over its oil output reduction deal.

Kozhukhova said that gold producer Polyus fell by 3.52% to 14,530.50 rubles as oil prices went back to $1,850 per ounce.

She said that shares of power holding Inter RAO grew by 1.05% to 5.40 rubles as investors were still pricing in Tuesday’s news about possible fixation of power exports margins to China at 5%, which would allow the company to avoid losses from high payments for power.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+1.09	278.48	18.267
Gazprom	+0.29	190.55	8.757
Lukoil	+1.28	5058.00	7.187
Magnit	+6.74	5380.00	6.523
Norilsk Nickel	+1.83	23260.00	5.433

(73.6618 rubles – U.S. $1)

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