MOSCOW, January 17. /TASS/. The MOEX index rose by 1.18%, to 2,945.52 points at the end of the trading session on the Moscow Exchange, the dollar-denominated RTS index went up by 1.14%, to 906.03 points. The yuan-to-ruble exchange rate fell by 3 kopecks in a day to 13.87 rubles.
"Oil prices are holding steady above $80 per barrel of Brent, the ruble remains relatively weak, and the likelihood of the Central Bank raising the key rate in February has decreased after the release of encouraging data from the statistics service on inflation. Also, purchases are fueled by the expectation of an improvement in the geopolitical situation after the change of the American president," said Alexander Shepelev, an expert on the stock market at BCS World of Investments.
The external background was positive. "This morning, investors were pleased with macroeconomic data on China. The country's GDP for 2024 increased by 5%, which is slightly higher than analysts predicted (4.9%), but slightly lower than for 2023 (5.2%). The indicators for industrial production and retail sales for December also turned out to be better than expected. In the eurozone, consumer prices last month - as predicted - accelerated by 2.4% year-on-year from 2.2% in November," Shepelev added.
Freedom Finance Global expects the MOEX index to move in the range of 2,900-3,000 points on Monday. The ranges for the dollar, euro and yuan exchange rates are 101-103 rubles, 104-106 rubles and 13.8-14.3 rubles, respectively.