Russian stocks rise as oil price, some heavyweight shares grow

MOSCOW, Dec 5 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market rose on Monday on support from the oil prices and purchases in Sberbank and Norilsk Nickel, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index rose by 1.28% to 2,208.28 and the RTS increased by 0.64% to 1,114.69.

“The Russian stock market grew on Monday after three weeks of contraction … Support came from the positive dynamics of the Asian shares caused by reports about the continuous easing of China’s quarantine restrictions, and from the growth of oil prices for oil and industrial metals,” Finam analyst Igor Dodonov said.

The Group of Seven leading industrial nations agreed last weekend to cap Russia’s oil price at U.S. $60 per barrel, but it is still unclear how it will work, and nobody expects a rapid contraction of Russian oil exports, Dodonov said.

Veles Capital analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said that the Russian stock market stayed in the green zone supported by purchases in the shares of several largest issuers.

“The MOEX Russia Index and the RTS Index switched to growth after a morning fall, and the ruble benchmark climbed above 2,200 largely because of the purchases in Sberbank and Norilsk Nickel,” she said.

Norilsk Nickel grew by 2.80% to 14,890 rubles without any fundamental reasons, while Sberbank gained 3.94% to 142.05 rubles as investors expected the bank to publish good financial results for January–November on Wednesday, Kozhukhova said.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+3.94	142.05	13.038
Lukoil	+1.26	4635.00	3.623
Polyus	-0.52	7465.50	2.293
Magnit	-1.86	4580.00	2.072
Norilsk Nickel	+2.80	14890.00	1.812

(61.7749 rubles – U.S. $1)

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