Sberbank, VTB Group Lead Russia’s Micex Stock Index Higher

OAO Sberbank and VTB Group, Russia’s biggest lenders, led gains on the country’s benchmark stock index after the Federal Reserve spurred confidence in the U.S. banking system and raised its economic assessment, stoking demand for riskier assets globally.

Sberbank, which has the biggest weighting in the Micex at 15 percent, added 2.7 percent to 103.26 rubles by the close in Moscow, its best rally since Feb. 24. VTB, with a 3.4 percent weighting, gained 1.9 percent to 7.328 kopeks.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Nicholson in Moscow at anicholson6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net