Russian stocks rise backed by foreign background, firms reports

MOSCOW, Aug 23 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks increased on Tuesday supported by positive foreign background and strong financial performance of major domestic firms, while ignoring falling oil prices which resumed growth only prior to the close of trading, analysts said.

The MICEX rose 0.53% to 1,989.51 and the RTS increased 0.93% to 972.25.

“Despite falling oil prices, strong reports by a number of “heavy” companies positively affected the market,” Finam analyst Timur Nigmatullin said.

The Russian stock market was also supported by improved moods on major European stock markets and growth of the U.S. stock indices, Vitaly Manzhos, a senior analyst at Bank Obrazovanie, said.

Oil prices were falling during the major part of the day remaining under pressure of record high reserves of oil and oil products in Europe and the U.S. and a major increase of drilling activity, Nigmatullin said. The oil price resumed growth only late on Tuesday, reaching the $50 per barrel notch at some point.

Power utility Federal Grid Company of Unified Energy Systems (FGC UES) was among growth leaders on Tuesday, having increased by 4.17% after reporting that its net profit more than doubled to 44.9 billion rubles in January–June, as calculated under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

National flagship carrier Aeroflot rose 2.69% after saying that the group’s passenger traffic increased 9.4% on the year to 24.1 million people in January–July.

Power producer Wholesale Generating Company-2 (WGC-2) rose 1.94% despite reporting that its IFRS net profit decreased 27% on the year to 2.4 billion rubles in January–June.

Electronic goods and household appliances retailer M.Video closed 2.05% lower on reports that its IFRS net profit decreased 13% on the year to 2.211 billion rubles.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+2.17	140.35	8.229
Lukoil	+0.97	3014.00	1.942
Gazprom	-0.31	137.37	1.937
Magnit	+0.51	10643.00	1.599
FGC UES	+4.17	0.1618	0.961

(64.2078 rubles – U.S. $1)

End