Russian stocks edge up to recover from previous losses

MOSCOW, Dec 9 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market advanced on Thursday to recover from previous losses despite an uncertain external background, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index grew 1.05% to 3,813.29 and the RTS increased 1.23% to 1,632.54.

“The Russian stock market edged up at the opening and maintained the upward dynamics until the end of the trading session to recover from previous losses. The external environment was vague with stock exchanges of the developed countries easing and the Brent oil price experiencing pressure,” PSB Bank senior analyst Yegor Zhilnikov said.

Senior Trader at managing company Alfa-Capital Vladislav Silayev said that investors did not look interested in geopolitics or the dynamics of the crude market anymore.

Blue chips of the financial sector were among the best performers after severe overbought previously, Zhilnikov said.

Energy stocks recovered, and investors were also interested in the chemical sector. Fertilizers producer Acron jumped by 11.48% ahead of a dividend record date, and PhosArgo added 1.32%.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank, common	+1.9	302.6	37.282
Gazprom	-0.78	337.83	19.096
Lukoil	+0.59	6613.5	7.687
TCS Group	+0.25	6261	4.046
Sberbank, preferred	+0.09	280.93	3.725

(73.8453 rubles – U.S. $1)

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