Magnit Heads for 7-Month High on Index Rebalancing: Moscow Mover

OAO Magnit (MGNT), Russia’s largest food retailer by market value, headed for its highest in seven months ahead of a rise in its weighting in the MSCI Russia index.

The stock rose 1.8 percent today to 3,650.10 rubles as of 10:58 a.m. in Moscow, on course for its strongest level since Aug. 4. The stock added 1.1 percent to $29.40 per depositary receipt in London trading.

Magnit’s weight in the MSCI Russia gauge will probably be increased to 3 percent from 2.6 percent, effective March 1, which may lead to as much as $140 million in inflows into the stock, analysts at VTB Capital led by Alexey Zabotkin said in a note today. The rebalancing of Magnit, the only change in the MSCI Russia, is part of the index provider’s plan to implement changes announced in February, according to VTB.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ilya Khrennikov in Moscow at ikhrennikov@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Viljoen at jviljoen@bloomberg.net