Russian stocks edge up on favorable environ, no negative drivers

MOSCOW, Dec 27 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market edged up on Wednesday as the market received support from a favorable external background, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index rose 0.09% to 3,097.49 and the RTS increased 0.53% to 1,068.71.

“The Russian stock market was in the green zone today as it received support from the favorable external background,” Veles Capital’s analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

The players on the foreign stock floors were moderately optimistic today, and the economies did not show any significant signals. The majority of the Western floors are ending the year with a noticeable growth because the largest economies of the world managed to avoid recessions, Kozhukhova said.

“The Russian markets were in the green zone on Wednesday. Market volatility remains low, and the market mood remains positive ... The low trade volume could be explained by the upcoming holidays, while the growth is coupled with a lack of the negative news flow,”  Andrei Alekseyev, portfolio manager at managing company Pervaya, said.

Otkritie Research’s expert Andrei Kochetkov said that corporate news was scarce.

The shares of oil company Gazprom Neft fell by 7.88% to 860.65 rubles after a dividend cut-off, Kochetkov said.

But the shares of internet company Yandex rose by 3.7% to 2,517.40 rubles on a Forbes report saying that several potential investors in its Russian business may have accumulated up to 45% in its parent company Yandex N.V., he said.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Yandex	+3.70	2517.40	5.093
Gazprom Neft	-7.88	860.65	4.764
NCSP	+1.28	12.295	4.742
Sovcomflot	+6.29	147.74	4.179
Globaltruck	+16.18	668.50	4.162

(91.7069 rubles – U.S. $1)

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