Russian stocks rise backed by oil price rebound, stronger ruble

MOSCOW, Jul 12 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks increased on Tuesday supported by growing oil prices, a stronger ruble and an improved foreign background, analysts said.

The MICEX rose 1.32% to 1,938.36 and the RTS increased 1.49% to 955.41.

“The Russian stock market demonstrated a moderate growth on Tuesday in the wake of an increase in oil quotations and a positive start of the season of corporate reports in the U.S.,” Veles Capital analyst Alexander Kostyukov said.

“Foreign optimism remains the main driver for Russian assets. Moreover, oil ceased reduction and sharply turned upwards,” Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov said.

The Brent oil price rose above U.S. $48 per barrel on reports that Iraq suspended oil shipments after an oil pipeline leak, Andrei Dirgin, head of the analytical department at Alfa-Forex, said.

Oil and gas companies were among growth leaders. Oil major Rosneft soared 3.37%, independent gas producer Novatek rose 2.58%, and oil company Tatneft increased 2.66%, Kochetkov said.

The banking sector also grew in the wake of a stronger ruble. Top lender Sberbank closed 2.33% higher and second biggest lender VTB Bank rose 0.23%, the analyst said.

Shares of the Federal Grid Company of Unified Energy Systems (FGC UES) fell 4.62% after the closure of a record date for the company’s dividends, Vitaly Manzhos, a senior analyst at Bank Obrazovanie, said.

Steelmaker Severstal grew 3.69% on the management’s pledges to increase steel output in July–September to the level of January–March.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+2.33	140.40	8.883
Gazprom	+0.51	142.12	4.323
Surgutneftegas pref	+0.94	40.88	2.156
Lukoil	+0.91	2777.00	2.024
Norilsk Nickel	+1.92	9025.00	2.010

(64.2024 rubles – U.S. $1)

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