Stock came cautiously up this morning, but midday found the Russian Trading System at a mere 650 to show apprehensions. It was a lax day, with tiny bids and offers, with no pronounced short-term trends, the Olma's Olga Belenkaya said to Novosti.
She also pointed out an alarming situation abroad, Friday getting US indices down. More than that, US futures and European and Asian stock indices dropped this morning.
Bulls are losing. It was clear by midday. So the blue chips slid down from the heights just won, says Roman Andreyev of the CentreInvestSecurities. The rear echelon, on the contrary, came up-Rosneft and TNK affiliates received a lucrative evaluation, and bids skyrocketed for their recently underrated stock. Power industry was another field of seething market activities as bidders shifted from its highest stock to the more obscure, added the expert.
No very bad news came this day, but an excess of rouble offers was about the only good news. It will have an ever-stronger grip on the market in the days to come-the amount of roubles will bloat on as the Central Bank is no longer working to keep nominal rouble rates down, while the US dollar is sliding lower down vs. the world's other leading moneys. That opinion belongs to Andrei Logvin of the Interfintrade.
Developments in and outside Russia-the dollar's global fall, and exorbitant petroleum prices, which brought rouble liquidity to an overflow-make the Russian stock a bonanza. However, this stock is not reliable enough to bull steadily. The Yukos plight and vague prospects cone as a fly in the ointment.
Big dealers prefer to sit and wait as an US presidential election is coming closer, and Yuganskneftegas auction terms will soon be announced. Bulls and bears are cautious alike-the latter with a lucrative situation in the raw material markets, huge rouble liquidity, and foremost Russian-based corporations' ambitious plans, says Roman Andreyev. He expects the balance to last several weeks.
