Russian stock market to remain at fixed level

A slight retreat was registered on the stock market of MICEX in the morning on August 27. However this drop was followed by a slight growth, a MICEX expert pointed out. The MICEX index practically did not change yesterday amounting to 470.18 points. The decrease in the index was about 0.20 percent. The total trade volume of deals with shares was some 7bn rubles ($230m), which was lower that the average daily trade volume this month. Blue chips fluctuated in different directions yesterday. Common stocks of RAO UES eased back by 0.07 percent, common shares of LUKoil added 1.21 percent, while YUKOS securities retreated 0.53 percent.

Liquidity deficit in the banking system was fading away. Balances at correspondent accounts of commercial banks amounted to 112.8bn rubles ($3.71bn), while one-day credit rates stopped growing and stabilized between 7 and 9 percent. On the whole, the negative influence of the factor of low liquidity on the securities market decreased noticeably, the expert noted.

The external economic conjuncture on August 27 was more favorable for Russian stocks than on August 26. The majority of European indices grew slightly. A 1.3 percent drop in prices on Urals oil was inconsiderable and it did not influence the Russian stock market substantially. So, the noticeable drop in Russian share prices, which occurred on August 26 and 27, did not continue yesterday.

The market will remain at the current fixed levels until the problem with ruble liquidity in the banking system is solved completely, the analyst thinks. A further weakening of the ruble may be a negative factor for the stock market. If the dollar rate continues gaining RUR0.03 to RUR0.06 per day this week, it might make investors start watching the development of the situation and suspend operations with ruble assets. Nevertheless, a long-term advance in the dollar and the strengthening of currency risks is unlikely to happen so far, the expert concluded.