Russian stocks mixed on low trade activity ahead of holiday

MOSCOW, May 8 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market closed mixed with a low trade volume on Wednesday ahead of the lengthy May 9 holidays, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.45% to 2,553.53 and the RTS added 0.01% to 1,238.04.

“The external background was positive for the Russian stock market on Wednesday. The crude price dynamics (looked encouraging in the second part of the session) with the Brent oil price breaking through a U.S. $70 per barrel mark in light of the U.S. Department of Energy’s inventories data demonstrating a fall by 4 million barrels,” senior analyst at Promsvyazbank Bogdan Zvarich said.

The global positivity prevented local bears from pushing the MOEX Russia Index below a 2,550 support line which could have marked the possibility of a deeper downward correction.

Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov said that the trade volume was low prior to the lengthy Victory Day holiday break that will last from Thursday through Sunday.

Power utility Mosenergo lost 1.83% to 2.2520 rubles on the news its International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) net profit fell 16.3% on the year in January–March, Kochetkov also said.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-0.64	230	9.761
Lukoil	-1.38	5331	4.303
Gazprom	-0.39	163.57	2.940
Norilsk Nickel	-0.31	14108	2.050
Tatneft	-3.64	723.2	1.480

(65.2166 rubles – U.S. $1)

End