Russian stocks edge up on oil prices, positive environment

MOSCOW, Jul 13 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks firmed on Thursday supported by rising prices for oil, the country’s key export, and by positive mood of European investors, analysts said.

The MICEX rose 0.28% to 1,959.91 and the RTS increased 0.41% to 1,029.89.

“On Thursday, the Russian stock indices showed moderate growth. The major driver for the purchases was the situation on the energy market, where Brent oil resumed its upward dynamics and climbed above a U.S. $48 mark. The Russian bulls were also supported by the situation on the external stock floors,” Bogdan Zvarich, an analyst at investment company Finam, said.

Igor Kovalyov, an analyst at InstaForex, said that the rally of foreign floors was prompted by mild rhetoric of U.S. Federal Reserve System Chairwoman Janet Yellen, but the Russian indices were not so eager to develop the upward momentum as investors were still concerned by upcoming toughening of the U.S. sanctions.

Kovalyov also said that the recent dynamics of oil prices showed that the oil market starts selling oil every time when prices try to rebound from their lows, which restrains dynamics of the Russian indices.

Andrei Kochetkov, an analyst at Otkritie Broker, said that shares of gas giant Gazprom increased 0.54% to 125.55 rubles as investors reacted to the news about Finland’s approval of the Nord Stream-2 natural gas pipeline.

Shares of Internet giant Yandex soared 16.33% to 1,898.50 rubles after the company announced a merger of its online taxi hailing businesses with Uber in Russia and CIS, Kochetkov said.

He also said that national flag carrier Aeroflot lost 6.00% to 211.50 rubles due to a dividend cut-off.

Below are the MICEX’ five most active stocks on Thursday:

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-0.57	159.94	11.502
Gazprom	+0.54	125.55	3.685
ALROSA	+1.85	95.84	2.979
Aeroflot	-6.00	211.50	1.899
Lukoil	-0.21	2908.50	1.615

(60.6227 rubles – U.S. $1)

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