Russian stocks rise on strong ruble, global background

MOSCOW, Aug 18 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market increased on Friday as the ruble continued to rise and the global environment improved, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index rose 1.71% to 3,111.22 and the RTS increased 1.76% to 1,047.03.

“The Russian stock market on Friday accelerated its rise by the end of the main trading on the back of stabilization of the ruble, improvement of global sentiment and proximity of important supports,” Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

The Moscow Exchange’s shares outperformed the market reaching a January 2022 peak of 154.3 rubles getting support from rising trading volumes during the volatility of the ruble, equities and other instruments, the analyst also said.

“Risks of further strengthening of the ruble lowered demand for shares of exporters. The dynamics of domestic sectors was also not impressive, only some securities were growing noticeably,” chief analyst at PSB Bank Alexei Golovinov said.

According to the analyst, the weekend factor influenced the market, so the investors were not ready to make purchases and took profits on those positions, which had grown strongly in the last days.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-1.46	256.61	16.019
Lukoil	-0.61	6094	11.024
Gazprom	-1.33	173.82	7.977
Surgutneftegas	-2.23	47.77	6.012
VTB Bank	-2.04	0.02664	5.459

(93.7460 rubles – U.S. $1)

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