Russian stocks jumped the most in
more than two weeks after better-than-expected U.S. payroll data
lifted crude oil prices.
The 30-stock Micex Index (INDEXCF) added 1.5 percent to 1,596.59 by
10:29 a.m. in Moscow as trading resumed after a two-day holiday,
heading for its biggest daily gain since Feb. 24. Preferred
shares of OAO Transneft, the state-owned oil pipeline monopoly,
rose 3.8 percent. VTB Group, Russia’s second-buggest bank, added
2 percent. The dollar-denominated RTS Index climbed 1.9 percent
to 1,711.28.
Russian stocks in New York added 1 percent over March 8 and
9, with markets in Moscow shut for a holiday, as Greece securing
support for its debt swap and stronger-than-estimated U.S. jobs
data bolstered the global economic outlook. Oil, Russia’s
biggest export, rose 0.7 percent last week while copper and
nickel added at least 2 percent on March 9, trimming weekly
declines.
“The Russian market is catching up with the positive
global trends reported at the end of the week when Russia was
closed for holidays,” Vladimir Osakovskiy, chief economist at
Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Moscow, said by phone
today.“U.S. payrolls were very supportive for oil, which, in
turn, is good for Russian stocks.”
Transneft rose 3.8 percent, the biggest gain in the Micex
today, to 52,944 rubles, poised for its highest closing level
this month. OAO Rosneft (ROSN), Russia’s biggest oil company, added 1.5
percent to 224.44 rubles.
Urals Crude
Crude for April delivery climbed 0.8 percent to $107.40 a
barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on March 9 as Greece
pushed through the biggest sovereign restructuring in history
after getting private investors to forgive more than 100 billion
euros ($132 billion) of debt. Brent rose 0.4 percent to $125.98
on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Urals crude,
Russia’s chief export blend, gained 0.2 percent to $123.74,
advancing for the third day.
“The biggest driver for the Russian market in the short-
term is the global risk sentiment and we’ve seen an enormous
change in risk sentiment globally,” Peter Taylor, senior
investment manager for global emerging markets at Aberdeen Asset
Management, which manages $50 billion in developing-nation
equities, said by phone from London. “The big things are the
perception Europe will pull through the Greek debt situation,
perhaps in a very messy way, but it will get sorted out, and the
better data coming out of the U.S.”
Market Vectors
The Market Vectors Russia ETF (RSX), a U.S.-traded fund that
holds Russian shares, rose 0.2 percent to $32.72 on March 9,
reducing its drop last week to 2.8 percent. The ETF has gained
173 percent since March 2009, when a bull market for U.S. stocks
started after the global financial crisis.
The Standard Poor’s GSCI index of 24 raw materials added
0.6 percent to 707.25 on March 9, gaining 0.4 percent in the
week. Gold rose for a third straight session after a report
showed U.S. payrolls rose by 227,000 in February, compared with
a median projection of economists surveyed by Bloomberg for a
210,000 increase.
OAO Sberbank (SBER), the country’s largest lender, rose 1.9
percent to 99.37 rubles, heading for its biggest jump since Feb.
24. VTB advanced 1.9 percent to 7.20 kopeks, the highest level
since March 5, as ruble gained 0.5 percent to 29.5305 against
the dollar, poised for its first daily gain against the
greenback since Feb. 27.
The Micex trades at 6.2 times analysts’ earnings estimates
for member companies. Brazil’s Bovespa index, which is valued at
10.8 times estimated earnings, has jumped 18 percent compared
with the Micex’s 14 percent advance since the start of the year,
according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Shanghai Composite
Index trades at 10.1 times estimated earnings, and the BSE India
Sensitive Index has a ratio of 15.4.