Russian stocks rise backed by oil prices above $70/bbl

MOSCOW, Jan 25 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks increased on Thursday backed by oil prices growing above U.S. $70 per barrel, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index rose 0.57% to 2,320.03 and the RTS increased 1.46% to 1,311.21.

“After the morning risk evasion, the situation on the global stock floors improved and Russian indices settled in the green zone receiving additional support from high oil prices,” InstaForex analyst Igor Kovalyov said.

Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) added 2.48% after saying that its steel production increased 2.5% on the year to 12.86 million tonnes in 2017.

Uncut diamond giant ALROSA grew 1.46% after Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev said Wednesday that the company will not pay special dividends after selling its gas assets.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+1.26	250.64	13.741
Gazprom	+0.07	149.80	6.303
Rosneft	+2.03	351.50	5.548
Lukoil	-0.65	3825.00	4.176
Norilsk Nickel	+1.87	11537.00	3.008

(56.3888 rubles – U.S. $1)

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