Russian stocks rise backed by foreign optimism, high oil

MOSCOW, Nov 21 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks increased on Tuesday supported by positive foreign background and growing oil prices, analysts said.

The MICEX rose 1.19% to 2,155.82 and the RTS increased 1.67% to 1,147.61.

“Russian stock indices have comfortably settled in the “green” zone, taking their lead from a predominantly favorable foreign background and a moderate growth of oil quotations,” InstaForex analyst Igor Kovalyov said.

Metals and mining giant Mechel was the growth leader, with its common and preferred shares soaring 4.44% and 7.02%, respectively, after the Arbitration Court of the North Caucasus Federal District voided rulings of lower courts to charge Mechel 12.7 billion rubles in favor of Dutch company Atrix, owner of the Rostov Electrometallurgical Plant.

Shares of national top lender Sberbank grew 2.85%, renewing a historic record, after the central bank issued a permit to the bank to assess credit risks basing on internal ratings of the bank (IRB), Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

Uncut diamond giant ALROSA jumped 5% after the company announced decision to sell its gas assets in the near future and said it could use proceeds from the deal to pay additional dividends, Kovalyov said.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+2.85	231.00	17.838
Norilsk Nickel	-0.28	10515.00	4.931
Gazprom	+1.95	132.49	4.692
RussNeft	-1.41	551.50	2.530
ALROSA	+5	79.17	2.480

(59.2746 rubles – U.S. $1)

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