This material was created in Russia, where coverage of Russian military activities in Ukraine is restricted by law.
Gazprom’s decision to suggest interim dividends caused Russian stocks to drop after reaching their highest level in months the day before. Meanwhile, the rouble stayed near 60 against the dollar and the euro.
Gazprom (MCX:GAZP) shares went up by more than 25% on Wednesday after the company’s board suggested paying dividends of 51.03 roubles ($0.8484) per ordinary share for the first half of 2022. This would bring the total dividend payout to about $20 billion.
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Its shares were down 0.3% as of 07:24 GMT on Thursday.
“Gazprom’s dividend distribution might serve as a catalyst for the Russian stock market’s development,” said Dmitry Skryabin, portfolio manager at Alfa Capital. “Gazprom’s example may motivate other corporations that have not yet paid dividends but have the financial wherewithal to do so.”
The dollar-denominated RTS index, which had reached a near two-month high in the previous session, fell 0.4% to 1,253.5 points.
The rouble-based MOEX Russian index fell 0.3% to 2,394.0 points, close to Wednesday’s three-month high of 2,423.12 points.
The rouble was approaching 60 versus the dollar and the euro. It was 0.1% higher against the dollar at 60.19 and 0.3% stronger against the euro at 60.28.
The rouble spent most of August at 60 dollars per rouble. Since it reached a record low of 121.53 per dollar in Moscow trade in March, just after Russia pushed tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, volatility has decreased. In June, it rose to its highest level in seven years, 50.01 per dollar.
The rouble has been the world’s best-performing currency so far in 2018, aided by emergency capital curbs implemented by the central bank to stop a huge sell-off. This prevented the economic collapse that many had expected.
From September 12, Moscow Exchange will reintroduce the evening session on its stock market, which will run until 20:50 GMT, and the morning session on its currency market, which will begin at 03:50 GMT.
Related: PIMCO reduced its large position in Russian CDS by purchasing bonds in the second quarter.
After major interruptions in February and March, when Western sanctions over Russia’s activities in Ukraine began to bite, the country’s main exchange is attempting to gradually return the financial markets to some semblance of normalcy.
($1 = 60.1500 roubles)
