Russian stocks grow on rising oil prices, foreign positivity

MOSCOW, May 14 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market rose slightly on Friday, backed by global optimism with Western bourses and energy prices showing positive dynamics, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index grew 0.01% to 3,637.60 and the RTS increased 0.13% to 1,548.93.

“The MOEX Russia and the RTS indices consolidated slightly higher on Friday… which is a good basis for further growth next week to break through May’s highs of 3,713 and 1,577. Purchasers should be however careful, because the upward impulse is not strong enough, and the situation on the foreign bourses looks uncertain,” Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

At the end of the week, the sentiment of global stock exchanges was positive with inflation wariness gradually fading, she added.

The Brent and WTI crude prices added around 2% to U.S. $67 per barrel and $63.5 per barrel, respectively.

Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov said that the chemistry and oil chemistry sectors demonstrated the weakest performance on the domestic market, losing 0.84% on the Moscow Exchange. 

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Gazprom	+0.66	248.79	11.793
Sberbank	-1.32	302.7	7.442
Norilsk Nickel	-0.12	27356	4.142
Lukoil	-0.01	6039.5	2.744
VTB Bank	-1.51	0.050285	2.610

(74.3566 rubles – U.S. $1)

End