Russia shares start H2 higher as commodities help

MOSCOW, July 1 (Reuters) - Russia's share market outpaced emerging peers' gains on Wednesday, driven by a slew of economic data supporting hopes for a revival in global demand to help the country's commodity-driven economy fend off the crisis.

"The direction of the market is still being driven by global external factors," Pharos Financial Group, a Russia-dedicated investment fund, said in a daily market comment.

"Given the positive statistics out of China and Korea, sentiment could well shift back towards optimism about a growth recovery, and we are adjusting our positioning accordingly,"

Russia's MICEX index rose 2.54 percent to 996.18 by 1040 GMT. The benchmark RTS , however, which closed the previous evening before negative U.S. consumer data knocked down emerging stocks, caught up with overnight losses among Latin American peers. [EMRG/DBT]

Manufacturing in China, a bellwether for commodities, extended a steady recovery in June and South Korea's exports fell less than expected from a year earlier, data showed on Tuesday.

Oil prices, to which Russia's indices tend to correlate, rose $1.35 in London LCOc1 [O/R].

"We are always looking out for macro data. Right now, it seems to me they can only exert a speculative influence," Metropol brokerage trader Mikhail Manasyan said.

"And even if the market rises or falls for a couple of days on the back of them, they will prove neither a complete collapse nor a complete revival of the economy."

Many market players expect the summer to be volatile in line with oil prices if data paints a conflicting picture of recovery, though hopes of gains in Russia are predicated on expectations that demand recovery will firm up in Q4. A Reuters poll of economists published on Tuesday showed economists believe Russia's recession had hit bottom, though growth would not return until next year [ID:nRUPOLL] A short, sharp second quarter rally more than doubled the value of the RTS but ended abruptly in June as oil prices fell and investors sought better value elsewhere.

Strategists believe Russia has further to run this year. A Reuters poll of 12 analysts taken last week showed median expectations for a gain of roughly 17 percent from Monday's close on the RTS if oil prices remain within forecast range.

To read the Reuters poll on Russian shares, see [EPOLL/RU]

Hydro power producer RusHydro (HYDR.MM) led the gains ahead of an expected Global Depositary Receipt listing in London on Monday. It rose 7.77 percent to 1,2620 roubles by 1041 GMT. (Reporting by Melissa Akin, Zlata Garasyuta and Olga Popova; Editing by Hans Peters)