Stocks gained the most in more than 2 weeks on Thursday as higher commodity prices and a pledge by the U.S. Federal Reserve to keep its interest rates low boosted demand for emerging market assets.
Gazprom rose 2.3 percent after posting an eightfold increase in profit in the fourth quarter, while lender Sberbank added 1.8 percent. The MICEX Index of 30 leading stocks advanced 1.7 percent higher to 1,455.14 at the close.
Stocks rallied following a two-day, 3.7 percent slump after concern grew that the debt crisis in Greece is widening to other countries. Markets were buoyed after the Fed said Wednesday that it would keep interest rates low for an “extended” period of time, and profits at Dow Chemical, the largest U.S. chemical maker, and insulation producer Owens Corning Inc. topped analyst estimates.
“It’s a temporary relief rally caused by the Fed’s decision and some good earnings from the U.S.,” Tom Mundy, strategist at Renaissance Capital, said Thursday. “The domestic story is good, but investors are preoccupied by a headwind of Greece and peripheral countries in Europe.”
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