Russian stocks edge up on high oil prices, Gazprom gains

MOSCOW, Apr 29 (PRIME) – The Russian stocks edged up on Monday supported by a favorable external background, including stable dynamics of oil prices, and thanks to trade in heavyweight shares of gas giant Gazprom, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index rose 0.24% to 2,569.83 and the RTS increased 0.64% to 1,254.96.

“The Russian market started the first short trade week by consolidating around the Friday level due to a positive external background. The dynamics of commodities prices may have supported our shares, as the Brent oil price restored some positions after a slump last week. The situation on the Western trade floors may have provided a helping hand as well,” Promsvyazbank’s senior analyst Bogdan Zvarich said.

The European floors rose by 0.2% in the evening, while the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 indices gained 0.1% and 0.2% in the first few hours of the trade. Still, the Russian market managed to gain some ground only after Gazprom started to grow actively, Zvarich said.

Andrei Kochetkov, analyst at Otkritie Broker, said that Gazprom gained 1.82% to 163.93 rubles thanks to a strong 2018 financial report, where the company’s net profit doubled on the year to 1.456 trillion rubles.

Dmitry Babin, stock market expert at BCS Broker, said that a higher ruble was one of the factors that exerted pressure on the MOEX Russia Index during the day limiting the market’s increase.

“It is possible that high external political risks and the upcoming holidays with the consequent low-liquid trading restrain many players of the Russian market from active actions,” Babin said.

Kochetkov also said that federal grid company Rosseti gained 1.43% to 1.0896 rubles thanks to a robust financial performance. The net profit of the company doubled almost doubled on the year to 40.2 billion rubles in January–March.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+2.52	228.80	11.045
Gazprom	+1.82	163.93	5.084
Lukoil	-0.64	5552.00	2.583
Norilsk Nickel	-1.56	14490.00	1.163
Moscow Exchange	+0.76	91.68	1.075

(64.7053 rubles – U.S. $1)

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