Russian stocks rise on weak ruble, high oil price

MOSCOW, Apr 26 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market increased on Thursday on the back of a weak national currency and high oil prices, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index grew 1.44% to 2,286.02 and the RTS Index rose 0.81% to 1,146.85.

“Increase of the U.S. dollar-denominated RTS index was limited by a continuing decline of the ruble. But the ruble-denominated MOEX Russia Index has gained a serious momentum for a significant rise. There was evident improvement of the oil market mood,” Vitaly Manzhos, a senior risk manager at investment company Nord Capital, said.

The Brent oil futures approached a U.S. $75 per barrel level and may set a new long-term record high soon, Manzhos said.

The MOEX Russia index fully erased the losses during and after the Black Monday of April 9 on Friday. The RTS is still about 8% lower than the level of the beginning of February due to the sanctions discount, he said.

Rosneft increased slightly less than the rest of oil and gas companies after a significant rise on Wednesday on dividend news, Manzhos said.

Raspadskaya increased 4.01% after reporting output and exports growth, he said.

Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov said that X5 Retail Group global depositary receipts (GDR) were a disappointment of the day, falling 3.33% after releasing a weak financial report under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+0.11	220.7	16.071
Rosneft	+1.35	375	5.176
Lukoil	+2.76	4140	3.933
Gazprom	+1.95	145.48	3.223
Norilsk Nickel	+1.71	10988	1.937

(61.7494 rubles – U.S. $1)

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