Russian stocks edge up in line with foreign floors, metals

MOSCOW, Aug 30 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market edged up on Friday following positive dynamics of Western stock exchanges, analyst said.

The MOEX Russia Index grew 0.95% to 2,740.04 and the RTS rose 0.65% to 1,293.32.

“The Russian stock market continued a wave of growth amid a mixed background… The bulls were backed by dynamics of Western stock exchanges with the core European benchmarks advancing around 1% and the U.S. Dow Jones and S&P500 adding 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively, in the first hours of trading,” senior analyst at Promsvyazbank Bogdan Zvarich said.

Vitaly Manzhos, senior risk manager at investment company Algo Capital, said that Russian metals companies were among the best performers as investors prefer to focus on them in light of vague prospects of the crude market.

Norilsk Nickel added 3.41% to 224.2 rubles, aluminum giant UC RUSAL surged 2.29% to 26.750 rubles, and integrated steel producer Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) increased 2.71% to 41.84 rubles.

Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov said that Norilsk Nickel was additionally supported by nickel prices hitting the highest since 2014.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+1.22	224.2	13.025
Norilsk Nickel	+3.41	16088	12.059
Gazprom	-0.45	232.15	5.122
Lukoil	+0.44	5379.5	3.971
Tatneft	+2.69	743.1	2.001

(66.7471 rubles – U.S. $1)

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