Russian stocks edge up on global positivity, good corporate news

MOSCOW, Aug 12 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market closed insignificantly higher after consolidation during the day on Friday amid a positive sentiment on the global stock exchanges and encouraging local corporate news, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index grew 0.67% to 2,147.33 and the RTS increased 0.91% to 1,116.32.

“The Russian stock market finished the day with a modest rise thanks to the support of corporate stories, after uncertainty at the beginning of the trading session… The MOEX Russia Index and the RTS closed the week below the short-term resistance lines of 2,160 and 1,130,” Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

The local market was supported by a growth impulse persisting on foreign stock exchanges provided by hopes for stabilization of the global economy and inflation, she added.

The nearest Brent and WTI crude price futures lost around 2% by the end of the day, falling from the target of the short-term upward correction, Kozhukhova also said.

PSB Bank senior analyst Yegor Zhilnikov said that the MOEX Russia Index demonstrated similarly low volatility as compared with Thursday. Investors were mostly interested in oversold stocks.

Shipping company Fesco was among the best performers surging by 5.75% on a sound financial report.

Hydropower giant RusHydro soared by 6.83% following the news that aluminum company RUSAL had increased its stake in the company.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Gazprom	+0.15	174.36	3.566
Sberbank	+1.16	124.88	3.378
Lukoil	+0.39	3940.5	1.576
SPB Exchange	-2.71	172	1.313
Yandex	-0.66	1903	979

(60.6229 rubles – U.S. $1)

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