16 Jul 2009 10:52

Russia stocks gain at open on Thurs; MICEX index adds 1.1%

MOSCOW. July 16 (Interfax) - Russian stocks followed indexes abroad and oil prices higher at the open of trading on Thursday.

The MICEX index was up 1.14% to 951.91 points as of 10:31 a.m.

Leading advancers included Rostelecom - up 1.9%, Gazprom Neft - up 1.5%, Surgutneftegas - up 1.5% and Gazprom - up 1.3%.

Virtually all of the stock indexes in Europe and the U.S. posted substantial gains on Wednesday and Asian markets were rising on Thursday, although a dip in U.S. futures has moderated investor enthusiasm.

RTS$#&: GAZP, RTKM, SIBN, SNGS