"The market's first response was negative, which is no surprise as nobody knows this man," said Troika-Dialogue chief trader Timur Nasardinov.
The opinion that the president's unexpected choice sent share quotations on the Russian market down is supported by Maxim Shein, head of the Brokercreditservice analytical department. "This is an unexpected proposal and the market is yet at a loss as to how this man should be treated," he said. "Still, the quotation drop was a momentary one and the market quickly returned to the previous price levels," noted Shein.
As to Interfintrade expert Alexei Logvin, he referred to the market's negative reaction as still persisting. "This is expressed in the price rise in the context of small sales," specified the expert, adding that the news about the new prime minister appointment would cause fluctuations for the next few days. "People are seeking to realize what is happening and what can be expected," said Logvin.
"What matters here is the West's reaction and the foreign investors' disinclination to withdraw from the Russian market," noted Shein from the Brokercredirtservice company. He believes the points in favor of Fradkov are his moderate liberalism and his work as the president's special envoy for relations with the European Union.
The expert made it clear that the Western market's reaction to Fradkov's candidacy repeated the reaction on the stock market, with "Russian companies' ADR first sliding down and then recovering." Shein assumes that the president's decision is aimed at further stabilizing the situation in the country. "The policy of establishing order will continue," he said. "Though it would be preferable for the market to see a man having got a closer association with economics." As to Nasardinov from Troika-Dialogue, he thinks that the further downturn will suspend and the market will not go down. "Today's trading session is likely to end with a growth tendency," said the trader.
"The market will close on the current level," says Logvin. According to him, the RTS (Russian Trade System) index by the end of the trading session will be between 670 and 680. As of 1:30 p.m. Moscow Time, the RTS index stood at 675.8, having crawled up in comparison with Friday by 0.84 percent. Meanwhile, the classical stock market concluded 94 transactions valued at $18.3 million.
