Bloomberg: Sberbank Leads ADRs Higher as U.S. Sales Bolster Crude: Russia Overnight
Ksenia Galouchko, Halia
Pavliva
Russian stocks in New York climbed the most in a
month, led by OAO Sberbank, as signs of a recovery in U.S. consumer
demand buoyed the global economic outlook and boosted commodity
prices.
The Bloomberg Russia-US 14 Index of Russian
companies traded in New York gained 4.7 percent, the most since
Oct. 27, to 95.06, as Sberbank, Russia’s largest lender, jumped 6
percent. OAO Mechel, the nation’s biggest coal producer for
steelmakers, added the most in four weeks and Yandex NV, operator
of Russia’s most popular search engine, climbed 6.3 percent. In
Hong Kong, United Co. Rusal, the world’s largest aluminum producer,
rose 0.9 percent at the city’s midday break.
Crude, Russia’s biggest export earner, rose to
the highest level in three days yesterday as U.S. retail sales over
the Thanksgiving weekend, including so-called Black Friday on Nov.
25, climbed to a record $52.4 billion. A proposal for a rescue fund
to insure bonds of debt-plagued nations with guarantees of as much
as 30 percent in Europe, Russia’s chief export partner, also
boosted prices for metals.
“The Black Friday numbers have shown that the
American consumer is still willing to spend,” Yan Gloukhovski, a
trader at Alforma Capital Markets, the New York unit of Russia’s
Alfa Bank, said by phone yesterday. “Russia is a commodity-driven
market and commodities are dependent on the global market
environment.”
Futures expiring in December on Moscow’s
dollar-denominated RTS index were little changed at 147,750 by 2:50
p.m. in New York. The RTS Volatility Index, which measures expected
swings in the index futures, fell 7 percent to 49.98 points, the
biggest drop since Oct. 7.
Market ‘Correlation’
American depositary receipts of Sberbank rose 6
percent to $10.55, the biggest one-day gain in a month. The stock
added 5.8 percent on the Micex index in Moscow to 82.98 rubles, or
the equivalent of $2.64. One Sberbank ADR is equal to four ordinary
shares.
“We are in a high level of correlation with what
happens in the U.S., what happens in Europe,” said Ian McCall,
managing partner at Geneva-based Quesnell Capital SA, which manages
the equivalent of about $116 million of emerging-market assets,
including Russian bank bonds.
ADRs of Moscow-based Mechel (MTLR) rose 5.1
percent to $9.43, the most since Oct. 27. Shares snapped a nine-day
decline on the Micex, climbing 3.5 percent to 305.10 rubles, or
$9.71.
The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Index of 24 raw
materials rose 1.4 percent to 644.84, while copper for March
delivery added 2.7 percent to $3.3715 a pound on the Comex in New
York, the biggest advance for a most-active contract since Oct.
27.
Yandex, Lukoil
Yandex, based in The Hague, Netherlands, was the
biggest gainer on the Bloomberg Russia-US 14 Index after the
company said it acquired developer SPB Software to expand the use
of its search capabilities on mobile devices. Yandex climbed 6.3
percent to $20.99 in New York, the biggest one-day advance since
Nov. 3. The price of the acquisition wasn’t disclosed.
Crude oil for January delivery on the New York
Mercantile Exchange dropped as much as 1 percent in after-hours
trading. Futures climbed 1.5 percent yesterday to settle at $98.21
a barrel. Brent crude for January settlement gained 2.4 percent to
$109 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Urals crude,
Russia’s chief export blend, rose 2.4 percent to $108.78.
Oil and natural gas sales contribute about 17
percent of Russia’s gross domestic product and as much as 40
percent of government revenue.
OAO Lukoil (LUKOY), Russia’s biggest non-state
oil producer, rose the most since Oct. 10 in New York trading,
gaining 5.9 percent to $54.63 in New York and rising for the first
time in five trading days. Lukoil’s Micex stock climbed 4.2 percent
to 1,712.20 rubles, or $54.54. One Lukoil ADR is equal to one
ordinary share.
Lukoil Recommendation
Moscow brokerage IFC Metropol cut
their price target for Lukoil ADRs by $5.90 to $70.10, following a
21 percent drop in the company’s third-quarter profit and declines
in crude and natural gas production. Raiffeisenbank AG reduced its
recommendation on Lukoil shares traded on the Micex and RTS indexes
to “hold” from “buy,” according to an e-mailed client
note.
ADRs of OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel (NILSY), the
world’s largest producer of the metal, gained 5.3 percent to $17,
the largest advance since Nov. 18. Norilsk rose 4 percent in Moscow
to 5,364 rubles, or $170.89. One ADR in the company is equal to
one-tenth of an ordinary share.
Norilsk plans to spend $2.1 billion upgrading
power stations and infrastructure under its strategy to 2025, the
company said on its website yesterday. Russia may cap nickel and
copper export duties as soon as the country joins the World Trade
Organization, the Interfax news wire reported, citing Maxim
Medvedkov, Russia’s chief WTO negotiator.
The 30-stock Micex index advanced 3.9 percent to
1,466.22 in Moscow yesterday. The RTS index added 4.4 percent to
1,475.25.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-29/sberbank-leads-adrs-higher-as-u-s-sales-bolster-crude-russia-overnight.html