Russian stocks grow on rising ruble, higher oil backed by US data

MOSCOW, Apr 6 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks increased on Wednesday on rising oil quotations, which were supported by reports on a decrease in U.S. oil reserves and production, and on the ruble’s appreciation, analysts said.

The MICEX rose 0.17% to 1,860.17 and the RTS increased 1.97% to 863.29.

“Statistics on U.S. oil reserves and production triggered the rise of the Russian stock market,” Alexander Kostyukov, an analyst at Veles Capital, said. U.S. weekly crude oil reserves contracted, while the market expected an increase, and a fall in oil production was even higher than previously estimated by the API, he said.

The dollar-denominated RTS was particularly supported by a strong ruble. Yury Kravchenko, a senior analyst at Veles Capital, said that the national currency was also backed by oil quotations, which rose on the U.S. statistics.

Forex Club’s analyst Irina Rogova said Russian stocks increased, as Brent tried to consolidate above U.S. $39 per barrel after falling to a monthly low of $37.26 earlier this week.

Flagship carrier Aeroflot surged 4.96% to 79.14 rubles on market speculations, according to Bank Obrazovanie’s senior analyst Vitaly Manzhos.

Moscow United Electric Grid Company (MOESK) rose 5.17% to 0.854 rubles after publishing strong financial results with its net profit rising 65.4% in 2015, as calculated under International Financial Reporting Standards, he said, adding that the news also supported many other power companies.

Russian Grids jumped 6.07% to 0.6426 rubles and Federal Grid Company of Unified Energy Systems (FGC UES) grew 6.47% to 0.09695 rubles.

Power producer Territorial Generating Company-1 (TGC-1) rose 4.74% to 0.005 rubles.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+1.06	108.00	8.134
Gazprom	-0.10	144.20	3.486
Norilsk Nickel	+1.14	8799.00	3.131
Lukoil	+0.61	2715.00	2.900
Rosneft	+0.93	309.05	1.188

(68.8901 rubles – U.S. $1)

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