March 25 - Vneshtorgbank placed 5 billion rubles in bonds on the MICEX. The yield on the one-year offering was 5.5% p.a.
                - Zenit Bank placed 1 billion ruble in bonds. The yield on this one-year offering was 8.88% p.a.
March 29 - Irkut Corporation placed 23.3% of its shares on the open market.
                 - Mikhail Khodorkovsky published an article in Vedomosti. YUKOS stock rose by 4%.
March 30 - the United Financial Group and Deutsche Bank issued ADR on 1.32% of Sberbank’s common stock. Sberbank stock rose by 5.3% on Tuesday.
                - Viktop Khristenko announced that the government had made a principle decision about how wholesale generating companies would be sold. RAO stock fell by 1%.
March 31 - OPEC decided to reduce oil production by 1 million barrels a day starting April 1.

Despite heavy trading, the dollar did not move out of the 28.49-28.53 rubles to the dollar range last week. The money market saw an increased demand for rubles, and the IBC rate rose to 7-9% midweek. However, this did not lead to any significant fluctuations in the exchange rate. Dollar trading took place with practically no intervention from the Central Bank.

The tense ruble liquidity situation at the end of the month caused prices to fall across the entire federal ruble bond market. However, the decline did not last long. In the second half of the week, investors began to buy cautiously as the Ministry of Finance actively made additional placements.

A similar situation prevailed on the corporate and sub-federal bond markets. Lower prices on liquid issues early in the week changed to growth by the second half of the period in question. The MICEX Corporate Bond Index remained practically unchanged for the week.

The Russian eurobond market also started out the week with lower prices. Macroeconomic news in the US and a subsequent decline in prices on American bonds caused this downward adjustment. Over the course of two days, Rossiya-30 bonds lost 75 base points. On Tuesday, however, prices began to rise cautiously. The spread of the Russian segment fell by 4 points for the week. On the corporate market, Gazprom bonds performed well. They reacted poorly to falling prices, but then in the second half of the week, their growth outpaced the rest of the market. The yield on Gazprom eurobonds fell by 9 base points.

Things looked optimistic on the stock market. The RTS Index rose above 750, gaining 4.5% for the week. Oil stocks led this growth, as OPEC announced its decision to lower oil quotas. YUKOS shares distinguished themselves in particular, gaining 13.2%, as investors took Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s article as a step toward normalizing the conflict around the company. Sberbank (+7.3%) was also among the market leaders. The bank’s non-resident depositors will expand thanks to its ADR issue. Gazprom (-1.3%) and RAO UES (-0.6%) were among the outsiders this week. The market reacted negatively to a government official’s announcement that both stock and cash would be accepted at wholesale generator company auctions. Apparently, some investors were hoping that only the company’s stock would be accepted.

The Financier’s Date Book

April 5   Severstal releases its results for 2003 according to international accounting standards
April 6   Extraordinary shareholders meeting at Sibneft
  MairInvest places 0.5 billion rubles in bonds
April 7   AlfaFinance places 2 billion rubles in bonds
  Ak Bars Bank places 0.5 billion rubles in bonds
April 8   Cabinet meeting on tax reform