Russian stocks rise slightly despite resumed decline in oil prices

MOSCOW, May 24 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks closed higher on Friday, but lost almost all their daily gains by the end of trading, as the foreign background deteriorated, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index rose 0.02% to 2,619.24, and the RTS Index increased 0.29% to 1,279.11.

“At the start of the session, Russian indices showed an upward momentum, after which they continued to grow steadily. This trend was caused by an active growth of global stock indicators and oil prices,” BCS Broker expert Dmitry Babin said.

“In the second half of the Russian session, the external background deteriorated significantly: global stock indicators and oil prices resumed their active decline. As a result, our indices also showed a sharp downward momentum, losing almost all daily gains,” Babin said.

Aluminum giant UC RUSAL and oil pipeline monopoly Transneft’s preferred shares were among growth leaders, adding 5.22% and 5.32%, respectively, Veles Capital analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

The country’s second biggest lender VTB Bank was among outsiders, losing 4%.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+2.25	234.45	15.427
Gazprom	-2.09	204.50	6.006
VTB	-4	0.0372	5.122
Lukoil	-0.66	5240.00	4.475
Sberbank pref	+2.33	205.59	1.575

(64.4913 rubles – U.S. $1)

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