Russian stocks rise thanks to absence of new sanctions, good mood

MOSCOW, May 17 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market demonstrated growth on Tuesday thanks to the absence of new E.U. sanctions and a better global background, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index grew 2.52% to 2,424.10 and the RTS increased 2.28% to 1,200.81.

“The Russian stock market stayed in the positive territory at the end of the trading session supported by the E.U.’s inability to agree on new sanctions and an improving external background,” Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

There was an encouraging sentiment on the Russian stock exchanges, which drove them to local peaks, she said. The MOEX Russia Index managed to break through the 2,400 mark, which can lead it to the upper bracket of 2,505 of a short-term range. On the contrary, the RTS index failed to break through 1,200, but looks ready to reach at least 1,255 if purchases continue.

Kozhukhova said that the U.S. and European markets demonstrated positive dynamics, and the Brent oil price added around 1%.

Alexei Golovinov, chief analyst at PSB Bank, said that investors’ activity continues to grow with the daily trading volume exceeding 30 billion rubles on Tuesday.

Energy stocks were among the best performers, he added.

Preferred shares of oil company Surgutneftegas surged by 7.81% ahead of the board of directors’ meeting to discuss dividends for 2021. Similarly, gas giant Gazprom increased by 5.98% prior to a meeting of the board of directors, slated for May 26.

Oil company Tatneft added 5.03% on the news that the government’s foreign investment committee approved further circulation of the company’s American Depositary Receipts (ADRs).

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Gazprom	+5.98	258.8	15.154
Sberbank	+3.52	127.75	5.288
Lukoil	-0.52	4500	1.753
PIK Group	+3.66	558.1	1.046
Norilsk Nickel	-0.07	21348	1.030

(63.4445 rubles – U.S. $1)

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