Russian stocks grow due to modestly positive mood, rising crude

MOSCOW, Mar 15 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market consolidated in the first half of the day, but rallied later on Friday following the crude price dynamics, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index grew 0.77% to 2,476.73 and the RTS rose 1.25% to 1,196.75.

“The external background defined the positive sentiment on the domestic market. China and the U.S. continue talks at the minister level which encourages investors. The (Brent) oil price failed to consolidate above U.S. $67 per barrel to hurt Russian oil companies’ stocks,” Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov said.

BCS Broker expert Dmitry Babin said that global demand for risky assets has increased in light of the Brexit deal delay. The Russian market consolidated in the first part of the session to jump steeply later in the day following positive crude dynamics.  

Power producer Unipro was among the biggest losers falling 3.62% to 2.554 rubles on the release of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) report for 2018 marking a 50% decline of the net profit.

Metals producers Severstal and Norilsk Nickel were among the best performers growing 2.88% to 1,036.8 rubles and 1.96% to 14,226 rubles, respectively.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-0.05	203.55	7.336
Lukoil	+0.97	5662.5	5.575
Gazprom	+1.23	154.56	5.133
Norilsk Nickel	+1.96	14226	4.211
Severstal	+2.88	1036.8	2.145

(65.4021 rubles – U.S. $1)

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