Russian stock indexes made further gains on Thursday, as investors remained hopeful that tensions in Ukraine will ease after President Vladimir Putin's call on pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine to delay a planned referendum.
Early in the North American morning, the U.S. dollar-denominated RTS stock index was up nearly 1% at 1,239 points, while the ruble-denominated MICEX index was up 1.1% at 1,378 points.
The RTS rose 4.7% and MICEX 3.4% on Wednesday, when Putin called on pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions to delay a referendum planned for May 11. The rebels are due to make a decision about the vote on Thursday.
Analysts anticipated a continuation of Wednesday's positive momentum on Thursday, reflecting investor optimism that the Ukraine crisis will be resolved through diplomacy.
Strong economic data from China supports the price of Russia's export commodities such as oil. Brent was steady at around $108 U.S. on Thursday.
Analysts said Russian stocks were likely to ease back in the afternoon before Friday's Victory Day public holiday, as investors are averse to holding risky long positions over a long weekend.
The ruble weakened slightly on Thursday, after soaring some 1.5% on Wednesday following Putin's comments about Ukraine.
Early this morning, the ruble was 0.3% weaker at 35.04 against the U.S. dollar and 0.4% weaker at 48.79 against the euro.
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