Russian stocks rise propped up by oil prices, European floors

MOSCOW, Oct 27 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks edged up on Thursday supported by rising oil prices and European bourses, analysts said.

The MICEX rose 0.25% to 1,979.80 and the RTS increased 0.32% to 992.67.

“The MICEX index grew…following higher oil prices and the Old World’s floors that resumed growth,” Sofya Kirsanova, an analyst at managing company Raiffeisen Capital, said.

The Brent oil price increased 1.303% to U.S. $50.64 per barrel as of 6.07 p.m. Moscow time, according to the ICE exchange.

But Irina Rogova, an analyst at the Forex Club group of companies, said that the growth of oil prices and, correspondingly, the MICEX index was restrained by concerns regarding the outcome of OPEC November meeting. Russia has only said it is ready to freeze its oil production, not to cut it.

Vitaly Manzhos, a senior analyst at Bank Obrazovanie, also said that growth of the local market was limited as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that the U.S. and the E.U. still think that tough economic sanctions should be kept against Russia, and the geopolitical scene is unlikely to warm up until the calendar spring.

Coal producer Raspadskaya rose 0.84%, while common and preferred shares of its parent company metals and mining group Mechel went up 7.01% and 3.01%, respectively as international coking coal prices rose, Manzhos said.

Aluminum giant UC RUSAL went up 7.91% after media reported that Sual Partners may close their purchase of 12% in the company for $700 million this year, Manzhos said.

Alyona Afanasyeva, a senior analyst at Forex Club, said that common and preferred shares of oil company Bashneft went up 11.92% and 3.19%, respectively, after media reported that the republic of Bashkortostan, the owner of 25% in the company, expects 5 billion rubles of dividends from the company in 2016, and on reports that Bashneft also plans to raise oil output to 21.5 million tonnes by 2019.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Rosgosstrakh	+0.77	0.395	5.442
Sberbank	-0.91	149.30	4.327
Inter RAO	+0.58	3.3035	1.981
Gazprom	-0.21	135.04	1.665
Mechel	+7.01	157.79	1.374

(62.2597 rubles – U.S. $1)

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