Russian stocks rise on UK key rate cut, oil above $42/bbl

MOSCOW, Aug 4 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks increased on Thursday because appetite to risky assets resumed after the U.K. central bank decided to cut the key rate, and oil prices did not fell below U.S. $42 per barrel, analysts said.

The MICEX rose 1.34% to 1,944.94 and the RTS increased 1.86% to 927.50.

“External conditions for risky assets are quite good. Today the Bank of England eased its monetary policy, as it was expected. The British regulator cut the rate by 0.25% to 0.25%,” Forex Club analyst Irina Rogova said.

“Oil prices still exceed $42 per barrel, which is another positive factor for the market. Particularly on the back of an ambiguous report which was published by the U.S. energy ministry yesterday.”

Raiffeisen Capital analyst Sofya Kirsanova said that optimism of Russian investors was caused by the enthusiasm on European markets, which increased after the Bank of England decided to cut the rate.

Vitaly Manzhos, a senior analyst at Bank Obrazovanie, said that the Moscow Exchange was the growth leader among the blue chips, rising rose 3.19% to 115.19 rubles after the publication that its second quarter net profit increased 6.8% on the year to 6.41 billion rubles.

Oil producer Bashneft went up 1.85% to 3,055.5 rubles, because E&Y recommended privatizing the company with a premium of 30% to an average price, Kirsanova said.

Territorial Generating Company-1 (TGC-1) jumped 5.46% to 0.00734 rubles, supported by strong IFRS results for April–June. The company’s net profit rose 21.76% on the year to 5.852 billion rubles and revenue increased 11.77% to 41.284 billion rubles.

Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov said that metals companies were depressed by the news that the E.U. had introduced an anti-dumping duty on cold-rolled steel from Russia and China. Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) fell 1.29% to 30.255 rubles.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+1.04	137.14	5.699
Gazprom	+1.98	136.70	3.498
Lukoil	+1.52	2839.50	1.726
Norilsk Nickel	+0.77	9734.00	1.221
Surgutneftegas pref	+1.58	32.10	1.175

(66.7420 rubles – U.S. $1)

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