Russian stocks rise following global bourses, crude prices

MOSCOW, Oct 14 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market increased on Thursday thanks to the support of strong oil and gas prices and a positive sentiment on foreign stock exchanges, analysts said. 

The MOEX Russia Index grew 0.36% to 4,259.13 and the RTS increased 1.12% to 1,875.97.

“The MOEX Russia Index was trading in the positive territory, aiming at 4,280. Among the support drivers were strengthening oil and gas futures and rising investors’ appetite for risk,” PSB Bank senior analyst Yegor Zhilnikov said.

Energy blue chips were trading higher. Gas giant Gazprom added 0.8% and oil company Rosneft grew 0.46% to recover after previous losses thanks to high energy prices, he added.

Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said that the Russian market was additionally supported by an optimistic sentiment on Western bourses.

The mining sector was among the best performers amid strong metals prices. Aluminum producer RUSAL increased 3.69% and nickel maker Norilsk Nickel went up 0.71%. Coal miners continued a rally on expectations of a hike in coal prices.

High prices for precious metals supported gold producers. Polyus surged 3.53%, and Polymetal International rose 0.57%.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Gazprom	+0.8	365.69	20.441
Sberbank	-0.74	376.01	13.126
Norilsk Nickel	+0.71	22880	6.917
Rosneft	+0.46	635.75	6.277
Lukoil	-0.9	7186.5	7186.5

(71.8577 rubles – U.S. $1)

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