Russian stocks edge up on positive global mood, despite lower oil

MOSCOW, Dec 13 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market traded mixed on Thursday as was dragged down by negative oil price dynamics and closed slightly higher thanks to a generally positive global mood, analysts said.  

The MOEX Russia Index grew 0.34% to 2,378.50 and the RTS rose 0.32% to 1,129.35.

“The MOEX Russia Index has not demonstrated any certain dynamics during today’s trade session. Energy stocks were mainly in the negative territory thanks to deflating oil which was again seen below U.S. $60,” Veles Capital analysts said.

The Brent crude price dropped after the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported a rise in oil stocks of all major oil consumers and said that OPEC states raised oil production by 100,000 barrels per day on the month in November, mainly due to Saudi Arabia’s output, which reached a historic high of 11.06 million barrels per day.

Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov said that the domestic market was also impacted by the European Parliament’s resolution calling Gazprom’s U.S. $11 billion project political. It said that the pipeline can undermine European energy security and called for its cancellation.

Veles Capital also said that the global environment remained generally positive with Asian market demonstrating a considerable growth.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-0.67	189.17	8.266
Lukoil	+0.58	5131.5	4.596
Gazprom	+0.45	156.49	3.048
Norilsk Nickel	+2.56	13220	2.668
Rosneft	-1.48	415.75	2.032

(66.4225 rubles – U.S. $1)

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