Russian stocks increase on oil price, US futures' rise

MOSCOW, Oct 19 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market closed higher on Tuesday, as the oil prices started to test recent records again, and the futures for U.S. stock market indices grew, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index grew by 0.66% to 4,276.26, and the RTS Index increased by 1.25% to 1,900.04.

"Whereas the external background was negative yesterday, and corporate news kept the market from falling actively, on Tuesday the external background changed for the better. Brent again tested the level of U.S. $85 per barrel, the ruble strengthened, as well as the other risky currencies," Andrei Kochetkov, senior analyst for global analysis at Otkritie Research, said.

He said that the futures for the key U.S. indices increased by 0.4%, indicating growth at the start of trade. Inflation fears and concern about the U.S. Federal Reserve System (Fed) actions calmed down to a certain extent. The corporate reporting season was successful.

Kochetkov said that the Russian sector of metals and mining grew significantly, and the gold companies led, as gold was seen as a protective asset amid inflation pressure and reluctance of the central banks to toughen the monetary policies fast. The steel producers increased after Severstal released a strong report for July–September and pledged generous dividends.

Veles Capital analyst Yelena Kozhukhova also said that the power sector restarted growth on the back of expectations of high electric power demand in Russia and China. CEO of Rosseti Andrei Ryumin estimated a 10% revenue rise in 2021, which was also seen as a positive factor.

RUSAL crashed 5.89% to 78.5 rubles after a report that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided the house of businessman Oleg Deripaska, analysts said.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Gazprom	+0.96	367	17.308
Sberbank	+1.93	371.62	13.999
Norilsk Nickel	+1.68	23508	7.747
VTB	+2.03	0.056895	5.325
Lukoil	+0.49	7355	5.077

(71.1714 – U.S. $1)

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