Stocks rise on positive global trade, easing sanctions threat

MOSCOW, Feb 20 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks grew on Wednesday as the global bourses rose on hopes for an end of the U.S.–China trade war and in the absence of new talks about sanctions, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index rose 1.19% to 2,487.82 and the RTS increased 1.77% to 1,194.40.

“The national market gave in to a positive mood of the global stock bourses and switched into the green zone after two days of correction…Positive comments by the U.S. and China leaders about the trade talks, expectations of a release of minutes of the latest meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve System, and – the most important – the lack of sanction rhetoric against Russia contributed to the return of interest of global investors to the Russian assets,” Sofya Kirsanova, analyst at managing company Raiffeisen Capital, said.

Investment company Finam’s expert Vasily Oleinik said U.S. President Donald Trump hinted that he was ready to delay a March 1 deadline for introduction of import duties on Chinese goods as negotiations with China were productive and the deal would be reached sooner or later.

“The Russian stock market again tried to grow following a string of downward corrections. The external geopolitical background was stable prompting investors to opt for riskier assets while diversifying their investment portfolios to the maximum degree possible,” Gaidar Gasanov, expert at consulting firm International Financial Center, said.

Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov said that almost all shares that were under pressure before showed positive dynamics, but a 2.78% upward rebound of independent gas producer Novatek was the most notable after the company reported a 4.7% increase in net profit and a 42.6% growth of revenue in 2018.

Sistema were also in the green zone, gaining 1.61% after its Tuesday’s sale of 51% in real estate developer Leader Invest to another developer Etalon Group, and an acquisition of 25% in Etalon Group, Kochetkov said.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+2.38	206.89	13.696
Gazprom	+0.26	154.43	3.269
Lukoil	+0.03	5445.00	3.187
Norilsk Nickel	+3.26	14250.00	3.072
Novatek	+2.78	1125.00	1.217

(66.2022 rubles – U.S. $1)

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