Russian stocks rise as investors track Putin–Biden negotiations

MOSCOW, Jun 16 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market edged up on Wednesday as investors waited for the news from a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden, while the oil prices supported the national market, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index rose 0.19% to 3,829.67 and the RTS increased 0.82% to 1,679.02.

“The Russian market started the day with growth, but later rolled back a bit waiting for the results of the negotiations of the Russian and U.S. presidents, and of the U.S. Federal Reserve System’s meeting. Still, even neutral results of the meeting in Geneva will be positive for the market, and the Federal Reserve System is unlikely to change its stance on the monetary policy seriously,” Andrei Kochetkov, lead analyst for global research at Otkritie Broker, said.

The Russian market was slightly concerned by the commercial metals prices, which fell as the U.S.–China relations worsened further, Kochetkov said.

He said that metals giant Norilsk Nickel fell by 1.01% to 25,792 rubles following prices for copper and nickel.

Yelena Kozhukhova, analyst at Veles Capital, said that the national stock market did not receive strong drivers to continue rising, while the RTS Index outperformed the MOEX Russia index because the ruble firmed against the U.S. dollar.

The background for the Russian market was positive during the day as the oil prices grew in reaction to an 8.5 million barrel contraction of U.S. oil reserves as reported by the American Petroleum Institute. The stock bourses of Europe and futures for the U.S. indices were flat as Europe was waiting for new drivers after the U.K. statistics showed that consumer and producers’ price inflation sped up in May. The U.S. investors were waiting for the results of the Federal Reserve System’s meeting, Kozhukhova said.

Oil company Gazprom Neft gained 1.90% to 424 rubles as investors priced in Tuesday’s dividend news, while Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) lost 3.69% to 64.53 rubles due to a dividend cut-off, she said.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Gazprom	-0.13	272.37	16.108
Sberbank	+0.18	313.06	10.546
Lukoil	+1.81	6622.00	6.772
Norilsk Nickel	-1.01	25792.00	6.495
MMK	-3.69	64.53	3.193

(71.8318 rubles – U.S. $1)

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