04 February 2004 07:31
Russian stocks not ready for confident growth
MOSCOW. Feb 4 (Interfax) - The Russian stock market is not yet ready for confident growth and optimism among
speculators did not suffice for stock indexes to hit the year's highs on Wednesday.
Trading kicked off quite aggressively with Yukos shares in the driving seat due to the wave of demand that followed
its demerger deal with Sibneft.
Support for Yukos calmed down as quickly as it had appeared as the desire to take profits set in, said Maxim Shein of
BrokerCreditService.
The RTS index went up 1.29% to 623.64 points.
The MICEX composite went up 1.19% to 557.56.
Investors were optimistic about Yukos shares because they hope
"As soon as the RTS index approached the year's maximum, investors started to take profits. Yukos'
conflict with Sibneft and its problems with the authorities are in different categories so players decided to take out
some insurance before Thursday when a verdict will be announced in the case of [former Yukos Moscow chief Vasily]
Shakhnovsky [who is accused of tax evasion]," he said.
Blue chips went up 0.5% to 2.2% on the RTS. Yukos rose 0.5% to $11.36 and Sibneft was unchanged.
The S&P/RUX composite ruble index rose 1.54% to 717.90. The index in dollars added 1.2% to 149.50.
that at least part of the conflict that surrounds the company will be settled so demand has increased over the past
two days with speculators buying the shares at their lower prices.
The demerger news is very important because going to court with Sibneft would have threatened Yukos with a loss of
assets, analysts at Bank of Moscow said.
"Now the threat has been lifted and there are already comments that now that Menatep Group has given in to
Sibneft shareholders, the government will yield, in essence, meaning an end to the conflict around the company. How true
such a proposal is will become clear on Thursday when the court pronounces its verdict in the Shakhnovsky case." If
Shakhnovsky is cleared or given a suspended sentence, investors will be able to think about the 30% discount at which
Yukos is being traded (not taking into account political risks).
On the RTS, prices went up 1.5% for Unified Energy System, 0.9%
for Norilsk Nickel, 2.2% for Lukoil, 1.8% for Mosenergo, 1.1% for
There is no guarantee that Yukos will be left alone after its divorce from Sibneft, said Sergei Suverov of Zenit
bank. "The end aim of the authorities is a change to more loyal owners : and until this happens, attacks against
the company will probably continue," he said.
Trading volume totaled $23.013 million on the RTS (including
$7.773 million in direct deals), and 16.749 billion rubles on the
In the long-term, Sibneft may have more to gain because it can now talk about selling assets to a foreign investor,
for example Total of France, he said.
Big gains for Yukos are not the only condition required to break the lateral trend and trigger growth, said analysts
from Veles Capital. There is a considerable amount of emotion involved in the demand for Yukos, so a downward correction
would be quite logical. As for the rest of the market, prices are likely to move up and down in the short term.
Surgutneftegaz, 1.2% for Tatneft, 2.1% for Sberbank, and 1.4% for Rostelecom.
MICEX.
Gazprom topped 44 rubles as the market continues to make the most of company board member Boris Fyodorov's
announcement that market liberalization would take place before the end of the year.
Gazprom shares on the St. Petersburg exchange, traded through RTS terminals, climbed 1.6% to 44.63 rubles in volume
of 37.16 million shares. [RU ASIA EUROPE EEU EMRG STX ENR TEL ELG E INSI BNK] me
[Interfax] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
