Russian stocks rise on higher PMI, de-escalation in Ukraine

MOSCOW, Mar 2 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks rose on Monday on manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) increase to 49.7 in February from 47.6 in January and amid the news flow concerning the de-escalation of the Ukrainian conflict, analysts said.

The MICEX rose 1.39% to 1,783.34 and the RTS increased 0.77% to 903.56.

“On the one hand, the market growth was backed by favorable statistics data: Russia’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 49.7 in February from 47.9 in January. Another important growth driver is the de-escalation of the conflict in the east of Ukraine,” Timur Nigmatullin, analyst at Finam, said.

The growth of the dollar-denominated RTS was limited following the ruble depreciation at Monday opening, Natalya Samoilova, head of Golden Hills-Kapital’s analytical department, said. Another negative factor for the RTS is the completion of the profit tax period and Russian companies made profit tax payments worth 200 billion rubles, she said.

Brent oil price lost its role as a key market driver to some extent due to its consolidation at around U.S. $61–$62 per barrel, Andrei Dirgin, head of Alfa-Forex analytical department, said. It may regain this role if it rise over $64 per barrel or may depress the market if it falls below $60 per barrel, the analyst said.

On Tuesday, the Russian market is likely to be influenced by the results of the current trilateral gas talks between Russia, Ukraine and the E.U. in Brussels, Samoilova said.

Aeroflot rose 0.79% following the publication of its IFRS results for 2014: the company swung to a net loss, but its revenue rose 9.9%, Anton Fomin, an analyst at InstaForex said.

Gazprom Neft fell 0.41% as its net profit decreased 31.4% in 2014, according to a company’s IFRS report, Fomin said.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+0.38	76.20	8.504
Gazprom	+1.67	155.50	4.325
Lukoil	+1.54	3027.20	2.816
Surgutneftegas	+6.73	41.01	1.674
Norilsk Nickel	+0.78	11269.00	1.342

(61.2718 rubles – U.S. $1)

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