Vladimir Putin and Russia''s President Dmitry Medvedev (right) shake hands after answering deputies' questions in the State Duma, May 8, 2008.
Photo: Reuters
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Stock Markets Rise after Putin Named PM
The RTS and MICEX stock indexes fell at the beginning of trading on May 8, then gradually regained their places and, by the time the State Duma began to consider the candidacy of Vladimir Putin for prime minister, they had risen by 1.5 percent. At 2:20 p.m. Moscow time, the RTS had reached 2243 points, 1.89 percent higher than the previous day. The MICEX was at 1771.58 points, which is 1.86 percent over the day before.
The indexes had shown a similar pattern the day before, when Dmitry Medvedev was inaugurated as president. That news gave the RTS index the buoyancy to rise above 2200 points for the first time since January.
The rise in the indexes May 8 was partially due to the fact that of the election of Putin as prime minister and partially due to the economic program he announced in the Duma. The new prime minister spoke about the need to lower taxes for oil companies and to develop the hi-tech sector of the economy. As a result, oil and gas stocks turned around in the middle of the trading session. The price of Gazprom stock rose 3.45 percent on the MICEX and Rosneft rose 2.75 percent.
www.kommersant.com
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