Russian stocks rise backed by positive dynamics of US indices

MOSCOW, Jan 17 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market opened lower, but won back losses by the end of the day supported by positive U.S. market dynamics on Wednesday, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index grew 0.89% to 2,277.89 and the RTS rose 0.29% to 1,264.7.

“The MOEX Russia Index and the RTS have clawed back morning losses by the end of the trading session,” Veles Capital analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

Senior analyst at Freedom Finance Bogdan Zvarich said that the Dow Jones and the S&P500 -- the major U.S. indices – rose by 0.5% and 0.3% in the first 30 minutes of trade supporting the Russian market.

The Brent crude price consolidated at around $69 per barrel.

A weakening ruble was positive for exporters. Raw diamond miner ALROSA rose 3.43% to 79.35 rubles, aluminum giant UC RUSAL surged 1.74% to 41.49 rubles, and gold producer Polyus added 3.83% to 4,659 rubles.

Real estate developer LSR Group was among market outsiders falling 2.86% to 833.5 rubles after its contender Etalon published a better 2017 report.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Gazprom	+2.35%	148.7	9.417
Sberbank	+0.08%	239.82	7.277
Lukoil	-0.27%	3851.5	3.107
Norilsk Nickel	+1.08%	11498	2.992
Rosneft	+2.83%	326.5	1.963

(56.3878 rubles – U.S. $1)

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