Russian stocks edge down pressured by ruble strengthening

MOSCOW, Dec 30 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market decreased with low trading volume on Monday ahead of the lengthy New Year holidays due to the pressure of the strengthening ruble, analysts said.  

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.15% to 3,045.87 and the RTS dropped 0.03% to 1,548.92.

“The market activity was fading out ahead of the upcoming New Year holidays. In the first part of the day, the MOEX Russia index was pressured by a new wave of the ruble strengthening,” Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov said.

Crude prices continued to rise, but domestic oil stocks demonstrated a weak reaction, he added.

Gas giant Gazprom slid 0.28% despite reports that the Ukrainian side had finished gas transit talks, Kochetkov also said.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+1.07	254.75	10.960
Gazprom	-0.28	256.4	6.032
Lukoil	+0.31	6169	2.450
Norilsk Nickel	-0.98	19102	2.400
Rosneft	-0.84	449.7	1.467

(62.0315 rubles – U.S. $1)

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