New economic data from the U.S. – a weak labor market and consumer spending below forecasts– put a damper on the market's mood.
Photo: Reuters
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Russian Fin. Market Relatively Stable
The instability of world markets and falling stock market indexes on developed and developing markets has led to a sell-off of Russian stocks as well. But compared to the 2-3 percent fall in Asian and European countries, Russian stock market indicators remain comparatively stable. Yesterday, the RTS index lost about 1 percent, ending at 2059.25 points. The MICEX index dropped 1.8 percent to 1647.52 points. Foreigners were trading actively on the RTS and its trade volume exceeded $80 million. On MICEX, activity declined and operations fell from 69 billion rubles to 47 billion rubles.
Analysts note that U.S. indexes fell due to doubts about the success of Federal Reserve Board measures to prop up the U.S. economy. After a wave of enthusiasm on Tuesday, new economic data from the U.S. – a weak labor market and consumer spending below forecasts– put a damper on the market's mood. The dollar is still losing ground. It hit a new low against the euro and fell below ¥100 for the first time since 1995. That was reflected on the Russian market by a drop in share prices for financial companies. VTB lost 2.2 percent and Sberbank lost 2.6 percent yesterday on MICEX.
Telecommunications stocks rose 3-7 percent, boosted by IT and Communications Minister Leonid Reiman's announcement that the privatization of Svyazinvest may be given the green light after the formation of the new government in May. While that information excited speculation, analysts warn that the mechanism for its privatization is still unknown.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 14, 2008
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