Russian stocks mixed on diverse local, foreign market drivers

MOSCOW, Oct 25 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market showed diverse dynamics during the day on Friday following various domestic and external cues, and closed mixed, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index eased 0.13% to 2,873.41 and the RTS rose 0.54% to 1,421.20.

“The MOEX Russia Index and the RTS index were trading mixed at the end of the trading session on Friday, shifting from the day’s lows… thanks to the ruble dynamics,” Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

BCS Broker expert Dmitry Babin said that the Russian stock market edged up at the opening, but then fell from the local highs. The market demonstrated a wave of growth after the central bank announced an unexpected decision to cut the key interest rate by 0.5 percentage points to 6.5%. The MOEX Russia Index’s dynamics were worse due to an accelerated ruble strengthening.

Kozhukhova also said that oil and gas company Surgutneftegas was among the top performers, surging for the third consecutive session with no evident news support. The stock jumped 6.96% to 46.58 rubles.

Mobile operator MTS also outperformed the market adding 2.97% to 278.65 rubles after its board of directors confirmed the plans to cancel delisting from the New York Stock Exchange, she added.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Surgutneftegas	+6.96	46.58	17.311
Sberbank	-1.15	240	11.921
Gazprom	+1.14	246.71	10.677
Lukoil	-0.53	6117.5	5.434
Yandex	-1.25	2064	4.791

(63.8600 rubles – U.S. $1)

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