MOSCOW, July 15 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s stocks edged up on Monday according to Moscow Stock Exchange data, as rising oil prices buoyed by China’s GDP growth data encouraged investors to buy the shares of Russian companies.
As of 11:25 a.m. Moscow time (07:25 a.m. GMT), the ruble-denominated MICEX index was up 0.61 percent to 1,406.20 points while the dollar-denominated RTS index was up 0.62 percent to 1,357.19 points. The ruble was unchanged from Friday’s close against the greenback at 32.64 rubles to the dollar.
China’s economic growth slowed to 7.5 percent in the second quarter from 7.7 percent in the first quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday, with global oil prices showing an upward trend as the result matched analysts’ expectations and was also in line with the Chinese government’s official growth target for the year.
Brent crude futures for August delivery gained 0.05 percent to $108.86 per barrel in morning trade on Monday while futures for WTI went up 0.04 percent to $105.99 per barrel.
World oil prices may rise further amid escalating tensions in the Middle East after United Nations peacekeepers in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights reported on Sunday that a mortar shell from Syria had fallen into an open expanse in the area’s north, causing no damage. In the past, such shellings have prompted retaliatory Israeli fire.
