Russian stocks edge up receiving support from background

MOSCOW, Oct 20 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market edged up on Wednesday mainly due to support coming to the national benchmarks from the external background and robust reports of Western companies, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index rose by 0.26% to 4,287.52 and the RTS increased by 0.25% to 1,904.77.

“The stock exchanges and the oil prices were under the pressure at the beginning of the day, and worsening of situation with the pandemic in many regions was the negative factor. … Nevertheless, the global exchanges tried to recover after opening of our bourse and continued regaining some ground after a short fall,” Dmitry Babin, stock market expert at BCS World of Investment, said.

Investors liked the financial reports of Western companies for July–September, and it supported risky assets, Babin said.

Veles Capital analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said that the MOEX Russia Index and the RTS Index resumed growth at the end of trade and maintained its upward trend thanks to the corporate stories and positive external factors.

“Optimistic mood prevailed in the middle of the week on the global stock exchanges, which was supported by a generally positive season of quarterly reports, and also by a return of oil prices to growth following contraction of reserves in the U.S.,” Kozhukhova said.

Yegor Zhilnikov, senior analyst at Promsvyazbank, said that the shares of aluminum giant UC RUSAL and of multi-industry holding En+ Group went up by 1.53% and 4.68%, respectively, in an upward correction after jittery trade caused by the news about FBI searches in the houses of its core beneficiary Oleg Deripaska.

Gold producers Polyus and Polymetal International gained 1.24% and 1.34%, respectively, as prices for gold grew, Zhilnikov said.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Gazprom	+0.11	369.25	12.702
Sberbank	-0.68	370.65	9.565
Norilsk Nickel	-0.57	23536.00	5.743
Lukoil	+0.68	7423.00	5.718
Moscow Exchange	-3.80	173.58	4.679

(70.9674 rubles – U.S. $1)

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