Russian stocks rise as US sanctions calm traders’ worst fears

MOSCOW, Apr 28 (PRIME) -- The Russian stocks closed higher on Monday getting a positive impulse from traders who have given a sigh of relief after sanctions announced by Washington appeared not to be able to seriously harm the country, analysts said.

The MICEX rose 1.49% to 1,299.13, and the RTS increased 1.78% to 1,139.29.

“The waiting for U.S. sanctions has been over, and the steps are not critical for the well-being of the Russian market as a whole. That is why the market has reacted positively to the news from the U.S., ” Metropol analyst Sergei Filchenkov said.

The U.S. administration has extended the list of sanctions for seven close allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, including CEOs of fuel giants Rosneft and Gazprom Igor Sechin and Alexei Miller, respectively, and for 17 companies. The list of ventures includes assets owned by businessmen Gennady Timchenko, and Arkady and Boris Rottenberg.

Gazprom’s share price grew in spite Miller and his Deputy Alexander Medvedev will be subject to U.S. sanctions, thus becoming a strong sign that sanctions have not actually influenced the share price of Russian companies, Filchenkov said.

“I am convinced that this reaction was far too optimistic because the individuals included in the list have control over a significant part of the Russian economy. The losses out of these sanctions might be quite significant rather than merely symbolical, as some media concluded,” Veles Capital senior analyst Airat Khalikov said.

Acron was one of the growth leaders as its board of directors recommended the company to pay 47% of the net profit in 2013 dividends. Acron gained 6.30% to 1,171 rubles.

Sistema demonstrated a hardly explicable decrease. “There are some rumors that the record dividends announced by Sistema’s affiliate Bashneft will go to the accounts of Sistema. This is just a point of view because Sistema may later order Bashneft to pay special dividends,” Filchenkov said. Sistema fell 1.61% to 36.700 rubles.

The trading volumes on domestic stock floors were low because investors were waiting for May holidays, and there will barely be any strong dynamics on the Russian market before the end of the holidays, Filchenkov said. The presidential elections in Ukraine slated for May 25 will be the next milestone for investors.

Investors will try to consolidate their profit before the holidays, as risks are still high. The Ukrainian clashes may escalate in the start of May because local employees will have enough free time to engage in protests, and investors are aware and fearing of that, Khalikov said.

Below are the MICEX’ five most active stocks on Monday:

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+4.98	73.39	26.920
Gazprom	+2.17	128.12	10.983
Sberbank prefs	+3.90	59.21	2.411
VTB	+2.49	0.03825	2.391
Lukoil	+1.47	1865.00	2.185

(35.9289 rubles – U.S. $1)

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