Russian stocks edge up as ruble stops weakening

MOSCOW, Jun 14 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market increased slightly on Wednesday, after the ruble stopped weakening, and investors focused on the statements from the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) expected to be positive, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index grew 0.29% to 2,765.18, and the RTS index increased 0.50% to 1,035.79.

"By the middle of the session, the Russian stock market trenched in with a symbolic plus following corporate stories and suspension of the ruble’s decline," Veles Capital analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

Transneft's shares spiked after the board of directors recommended paying 16,665.2 rubles per share in dividends for 2022, the analyst said.

By Wednesday evening, investors were still waiting for statements by executives and state officials from the SPIEF, she said.

Alexei Kalachyov from Finam said that the foreign markets were predominantly optimistic, as the participants expected the U.S. Federal Reserve System to decide against raising the key rate and to break a cycle of policy toughening later in the day amid reports of inflation deceleration.

According to Kozhukhova, the oil market mood was positive, as the nearest Brent and WTI futures added about 1.5% in the middle of the Russian session and aimed at short-term resistance levels of U.S. $75.5 and $71 respectively, after the International Energy Agency raised the global oil demand forecast for 2023.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Transneft pref	+6.93	143550	11.157
Sberbank	-0.03	244.25	11.095
Lukoil	-0.55	5235	4.381
Yandex	+2.49	2630.6	3.327
Gazprom	-0.55	167.5	2.808

(836405 rubles – U.S. $1)

End