Russian stocks correct upwards as oil prices bounce back

MOSCOW, Jun 16 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market rebounded on Friday after four days of decline propped up by rising oil prices, but analysts warned that the recovery was short-lived.

The MICEX rose 0.28% to 1,822.91 and the RTS grew 0.24% to 994.38.

“The Russian market stopped falling and demonstrated an upward correction… This looked mostly like technical growth … investors bought cheap shares hoping for a rebound,” Raiffeisen Capital analyst Sofya Kirsanova said.

She added that Russian stocks were buoyed by oil prices, which rose for the first time after four days of decline. However, the bounce back is also technical as the energy market is oversupplied despite an OPEC+ oil output cut deal. According to the International Energy Agency’s forecast, non-OPEC states will boost production by 1.5 million barrels per day in 2018 while demand will increase by only 1.4 million barrels per day.

Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov said that there was no significant market news except the central bank’s decision to reduce the key rate modestly to 9% from 9.25% as some medium-term inflation risks remain.

Kirsanova also said that metal shares were in high demand with the MICEXM&M index rising 1.41% as investors expect the ruble to weaken in the short- or medium-term. Aluminum giant UC RUSAL surged 4.08% to 27.05 rubles, metallurgic giant Severstal added 2.84% to 717 rubles and steelmaker Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) soared 1.39% to 102.95 rubles.

Below are the MICEX’ five most active stocks on Friday:

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+1.89%	141.63	11.235
Gazprom	+0.46%	116.02	4.684
Lukoil	-1%	2,685	2.561
Norilsk Nickel	+1.79%	8,154	2.020
Rosneft	+1.62%	306.50	1.846

(57.4437 rubles – U.S. $1)

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