Russian stocks increase, ignore neutral global background

MOSCOW, Jan 18 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market edged up on Monday amid a lack of major external drivers, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index grew 0.61% to 3,471.92 and the RTS increased 0.04% to 1,474.86.

“The MOEX Russia and the RTS indices tried to consolidate above the important short-terms levels of 3,460 and 1,460, respectively, which may help them to gain new highs during the next trading session,” Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

The external background was neutral with a lack of major drivers thanks to a holiday on the U.S. stock market linked to celebration of Martin Luther King Day and the absence of important macroeconomic data, she added.

Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov said that the Russian market traded lower at the beginning of the day pressured by the Brent oil price falling to U.S. $54.5 per barrels, but then the domestic market reversed.

Kozhukhova also said that TCS Group, which includes Tinkoff Bank, hit a new record high of 3,500 rubles, but then bounced back, and that electronic goods retailer M.Video-Eldorado was among the biggest losers falling 2.88% to correct downwards from a steep jump seen last week.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+1.46	280.95	19.478
Gazprom	+0.77	228.25	14.603
Lukoil	-0.2	5877	7.512
Norilsk Nickel	+0.88	25816	5.361
Rosneft	+1.29	518.8	5.291

(73.5453 rubles – U.S. $1)

End