Russian stocks edge up backed by positive foreign sentiments

MOSCOW, Mar 2 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market rose on Tuesday, ignoring news about fresh E.U. and U.S. sanctions, thanks to a global mood positive for risky assets, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index grew 0.71% to 3,410.10 and the RTS increased 0.66% to 1,452.48.

“The MOEX Index Russia and the RTS stayed moderately higher, supported by the external background that is generally positive for buyers… News about new E.U. and U.S. sanctions against Russia over the Navalny case have not impacted the Russian assets much,” Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

The E.U. imposed sanctions against four high ranking Russian officials, and the U.S. slapped sanctions against 14 organizations as a response to the recent arrest and jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Kozhukhova said that the domestic benchmarks tested the resistance levels of 3,410 and 1,445, which may signal to resumption of confident growth, and that the sentiment on the global bourses was mixed, but risky assets look ready for a further advance.

Gold producer ALROSA was among the top gainer rising 1.60% thanks to a better than expected IFRS financial report for 2020.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+2.05	279.2	18.458
Norilsk Nickel	-2.31	23708	13.054
Gazprom	+0.79	223.23	7.017
Lukoil	+0.29	5650.5	4.093
ALROSA	+1.6	102.72	3,407

(74.0448 rubles – U.S. $1)

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