Russian stocks drop on falling oil, major cos ex-dividend date

MOSCOW, Jul 17 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks decreased on Wednesday affected by ex-dividend date in shares of many domestic firms, as well as pessimistic moods on global floors and falling oil prices, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 1.55% to 2,713.17 and the RTS decreased 1.48% to 1,361.58.

“The MOEX Russia Index and the RTS Index remained in a significant minus by the end of trading on Wednesday largely due to corporate news,” Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

Trading in the U.S. opened with mixed dynamics of three main indices, which were losing 0.2–0.3% by the end of trading in Russia, she said. Trading in Europe was on a moderately negative note. Brent oil prices remained below U.S. $65 per barrel.

BCS Broker expert Dmitry Babin said that “dividend gaps in Gazprom, Surgutneftegas and some other issuers contributed to the negative dynamics of our market.”

Federal Grid Company of Unified Energy Systems (FGC UES) and common shares of metals and mining group Mechel were among growth leaders, adding 2.02% and 2.1%, respectively, Kozhukhova said.

Oil and gas company Surgutneftegas’ preferred shares, Mechel’s preferred shares, and gas giant Gazprom were among outsiders, losing 17.65%, 13.47%, and 7.49%, respectively, as they started trading ex-dividend.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Gazprom	-7.49	220.19	10.906
Sberbank	-0.05	234.63	7.916
Lukoil	+0.3	5206.00	3.016
Surgutneftegas pref	-17.65	34.545	2.895
Tatneft	+1.51	741.00	2.120

(62.8129 rubles – U.S. $1)

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