The Russian stock market rose on Friday on small volumes. At the end of the day, the Moscow Exchange index added 0.5% to 3449.78 points, while the RTS index rose by 0.15% to 1178.02 points.
Gold miners are leading the way: “Polyus” (+3%), “Seligdar” (+2.7%) amid rising precious metal prices. In terms of trading volume, “Polyus” today came in second after “Sberbank”.
Currently, gold has reached $2371.5 per ounce (+0.48%). Regarding the future prospects of the precious metal, analysts at “Alfa-Bank” believe that there is a high probability of gold reaching new historical highs around $2400 per ounce in the coming months.
“The local driver – weak US labor market data, which allow the Fed to cut rates earlier. The $2500 level by the end of the year no longer seems unattainable. Although we cannot say anything for sure,” notes Anton Vesenniy, author of the Telegram channel “Lazy Investor”.
Stocks that performed better than the market include “Mechel” (ao +3.7%, ap +2.8%), “Inter RAO” (+2.1%), “Magnit” (+1.6%), and “Surgutneftegaz” (+1.6%).
Stocks that performed worse than the market at the end of the day were QIWI (-1.6%), Renaissance Insurance (-1.1%), RUSAL (-1.1%), and Ozon (-1.09%).
The Russian currency slightly weakened on Friday: at the end of the trading day, the dollar rose by 0.33% to 92.258 rubles, while the yuan was up by 0.35% to 12.67.
The main event of the day was the appointment of Mikhail Mishustin as the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. His candidacy was considered and approved by the State Duma during the day, and in the evening, the decree on his appointment was signed by the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. The Duma will consider the candidacy of Deputy Prime Ministers on May 13 and the Ministers on the 14th.
“Black gold” is correcting: as of 19:30 Moscow time, Brent crude oil is down 0.94% at $83.09, while Light crude oil is priced at $78.52 (-0.93%).
European markets closed at new record highs as the UK emerges from recession. Indices rose by around 0.5%.
American markets are trading mixed as they await further inflation data: the S&P 500 index is up 0.05%, while the Dow Jones is up 0.24%. The Dow Jones index has risen for the eighth session in a row and may end the fourth week in the positive territory. This has been the longest daily winning streak since December, according to Reuters. Market participants are focusing on consumer price data next week to gain more clarity on the Fed’s monetary policy program, the publication writes. The Nasdaq index is currently down 0.16%. Tesla shares are down nearly 2%, Apple is down 1%, and Alphabet is down just over 1%.