Russian stocks rise following oil price, European bourses

MOSCOW, May 27 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market grew on Monday on the back of a slight increase of oil prices and a positive trend in European stocks as trade floors in the U.S. and the U.K. were closed, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index rose 0.52% to 2,632.95 and the RTS increased 0.70% to 1,288.12.

“While bourses in the U.S. and the U.K. are on holidays, stock trade in the rest of the world was calm. The oil price grew in reaction to slowdown of drilling activity in the U.S. and to restrictions of production and exports in oil producing states,” Andrei Kochetkov, analyst at Otkritie Broker, said.

The Brent oil price gained 0.579% to U.S. $69.09 per barrel as of 5.08 p.m. Moscow time, according to the ICE exchange.

Investment company Veles Capital’s analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said that a calm trade at foreign bourses helped the Russian market to stay above zero.

“The European floors were in the green today…Elections to the European Parliament were held this weekend. Even though preliminary data shows Eurosceptic parties strengthening their positions in Italy and France, the landscape turned out to be in line with general predictions, so pro-European parties should hold about two thirds of votes,” Anastasia Popova, stock market expert at BCS Broker, said.

Kochetkov also said that shares of oil and gas pipe producer TMK were among the leaders early in the day as the board of directors of the company recommended paying 2.55 rubles per share in dividends for January–March.

Ongoing media reports about a possibility of oil pipeline monopoly Transneft cutting its dividends due to compensations to the clients for supplies of contaminated oil dragged preferred shares of the company into the red zone, Kochetkov added.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+0.66	236	6.539
Gazprom	+0.83	206.2	5.751
Lukoil	-0.38	5220	2.674
Sberbank prefs	+0.69	207.01	0.951
Rosseti	-3.87	1.1988	0.731

(64.6106 rubles – U.S. $1)

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