Russian stocks grow as Greeks vote for austerity steps, oil rise

MOSCOW, Jul 16 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks gained on Thursday supported by the news that the Greek parliament approved austerity measures necessary to receive E.U. aid, and an oil price rise, analysts said.

The MICEX rose 0.69% to 1,652.59 and RTS increased 1.14% to 919.81.

“On Thursday, the Russian stock market resumed growth on the back of positive Greek news and rising oil prices,” Sofya Kirsanova, analyst at Raiffeisen Capital, said.

Significant support was also provided by the oil price, which edged up 1.4%.

“Apart from a technical correction after a 2.5% plunge yesterday, another reason for growth was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy on its commercial oil stocks falling 4.3 million barrels last week instead of expected 1.9 million barrels,” Kirsanova added.

“Apart from the decision of the Greek parliament, optimistic mood was also supported by a statement by ECB head Mario Draghi, who said in a news conference after the bank’s meeting on its key rate that the quantitative easing program will be in force until inflation meets the target,” Igor Kovalyov, analyst at InstaForex, said.

Retailer Dixy Group looked weaker than the market, rising only 0.15% to 327 rubles after it reported that its revenue rose by 16.6% on the year in June, below similar figures of its main competitors, X5 Retail Group and Magnit.

Sales of real estate developer LSR Group decreased 45% on the year in January–June, and the company lost 0.83% to 599 rubles.

Common and preferred shares of oil company Surgutneftegas rose by 4.20% to 33.28 rubles and 3.70% to 33.60 rubles, respectively, recovering Wednesday’s losses after a dividend cut-off.

Common and preferred shares of metals group Mechel grew 3.40% to 67.20 rubles and 1.66% to 46.06 rubles, respectively after it said it repaid over 800 million rubles out of a 3.9 billion ruble debt to one of its main creditors, Sberbank.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+0.28	74.21	4.203
Gazprom	+1.05	144.20	2.206
Surgutneftegas prefs	+3.70	33.60	1.821
Lukoil	+0.07	2461.60	1.340
MMK	+2.67	19.20	1.131

(56.6642 rubles – U.S. $1)

End