Russians stocks rally in anticipation of high dividends

MOSCOW, Jul 4 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market continued its rally amid the high dividend season despite the absence of U.S. investors who celebrated Independence Day on Thursday, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index grew 0.67% to 2,842.78 and the RTS rose 0.71% to 1,411.53.

"The Russian stock market kept on growing on Thursday after a small holdback in the morning. The MOEX Russia Index hit another record high of above 2,840. The absence of U.S. investors due to Independence Day and an unclear foreign background failed to prevent local market participants from following the active stage of the dividend season and certain local growth ideas," Yevgeny Loktyukhov, head of Promsvyazbank’s research department, said.

Gas giant Gazprom managed to consolidate above 250 rubles on expectations of large dividends, while oil company Lukoil surged 2.23% to 5,464.5 rubles ahead of the record date scheduled for July 8, Loktyukhov also said.

Multi-industry holding Sistema and national air carrier Aeroflot rallied with high trade volumes, adding 5.68% to 11.52 rubles and 5.74% to 110.6 rubles.

Director of the market analysis department at Otkritie Broker Konstantin Bushuyev said that oil company Tatneft was among the biggest losers falling 2.5% to 760.5 rubles as the stock started trading ex-dividend.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Gazprom	+1.49	255.35	11.057
Sberbank	+0.54	242.82	6.131
Lukoil	+2.23	5464.5	4.031
VTB Bank	+2	0.041395	3.103
Aeroflot	+5.74	110.6	3.034

(63.4951 rubles – U.S. $1)

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