31 May 2004 08:16
Falling Yukos shares pull Russian stock market down
Yukos oil company shares fell by 10 per cent on Friday 28 May, pulling down the whole Russian market, Ekho Moskvy
news agency said on 31 May. Shares in other Blue Chip companies also fell: Gazprom shares were down 7 per cent, Unified
Energy System of Russia shares were down 6.6 per cent and Rostelekom shares were down 5 per cent.
The report quoted Olga Kharlova, the head of Rosevrobank treasury's interbank operations department, as telling
Ekho Moskvy radio that "the continuing battle between the state and Yukos and the astronomical sums in the tax
claims led to a serious fall in the company's share price last week". "On Wednesday and Thursday the fall
was restrained, but on Friday it was hysterical," she added.
"It is almost impossible to believe that an oil company whose shares headed the Russian market a year ago could
be so close to bankruptcy in a period when oil prices are at their highest. However, that is exactly what we are seeing
at the moment," Kharlova said.
[Ekho Moskvy news agency] |
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