Russian stocks mixed as West celebrates Christmas, ruble rises

MOSCOW, Dec 25 (PRIME) – The MOEX Russia Index remained almost flat on Wednesday, while the RTS Index edged up thanks to a strengthening ruble, as the Western markets were closed for Christmas celebrations, the analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index rose 0.01% to 3,030.84 and the RTS increased 0.24% to 1,544.12.

“Trade on the Russian stock market was calm on December 25. The volume and volatility were noticeably lower than usual, as Europe and the U.S. celebrate Christmas. There were no news that could influence the market significantly,” Georgy Vashchenko, head of the department for operations on the Russian stock market at investment company Freedom Finance, said.

The focus of the day was continuous strengthening of the ruble, which improved its leadership in the rating of currencies of emerging states, Vashchenko said.

“The MOEX Russia Index and the RTS Index showed no unified dynamics closer to the end of trade due to the lack of external drivers and strengthening ruble,” Veles Capital’s analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

Andrei Kochetkov, senior analyst at Otkritie Broker, also said that the Russian market traded alone.

“There were no external news, and no internal news. However, Chairwoman of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina said that negotiations were going on with the government on the sale of the stake in Sberbank owned by the central bank, but no decisions were made…Aside from that, the market traded in a consolidation regime,” Kochetkov said.

Vashchenko also said that shares of electronic goods and household appliances retailer M.Video were among the gain leaders rising 4.11% to 529 rubles. The shares continue their upward rebound after a recent 20% plunge, which in its turn looked like a downward correction after a rally, he said.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Gazprom	-0.64	253.25	3.123
Norilsk Nickel	+1.32	19890.00	2.258
Sberbank	-0.25	248.04	1.965
Lukoil	+0.01	6081.00	1.436
Surgutneftegas	-1.91	51.205	1.414

(62.1673 rubles – U.S. $1)

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