Russian stocks increase as Brent price exceeds $56 per barrel

MOSCOW, Feb 1 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market rose on Wednesday erasing two-day losses of the start of the week, as the Brent oil price exceeded U.S. $56 per barrel and the European markets grew, analysts said.

The MICEX increased 0.64% to 2,231.68 and the RTS grew 0.29% to 1,167.53. 

“The Russian stock market was correcting on Wednesday after two days of decline, which was favored by the external background,” Finam analyst Bogdan Zvarich said.

He said that Brent was able to rise above $56 per barrel despite of an American Petroleum Institute report indicating an oil reserves growth. The European markets dynamics were also favorable for Russian bulls.

Russia’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 54.7 in January from 53.7 in December which was also an important positive factor for the Russian market, Andrei Kochetkov, an analyst at Otkritie Broker, said. But he said that the weakness of the retail and construction sectors was disappointing.

All retailers demonstrated a slowdown of the revenue rise, which is why their long-term growth trend ended, he said.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+0.99	173.9	7.318
Gazprom	-0.10	149.65	3.122
Lukoil	+0.15	3375	2.097
Norilsk Nickel	+2.27	9848	1.599
Rosneft	+0.22	401.5	1.468

(60.0851 rubles – U.S. $1)

End