Stock market opens higher - 13 March, 2003

Share prices went up considerably at the opening on the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange today. Share prices are likely to grow on the stock market today amid the increase in world oil prices to a 12-year high level due to the drop in US oil reserves by 1.4 percent, analysts believe. Other positive factors are the growth in US indices for the first time over the past three days and the gain in futures this morning amid the expectations that a war in Iraq will be quick, if it happens. At the same time, a considerable advance is unlikely to occur today, because share quotes on the domestic market show that they are overbought compared to ADRs, experts think.

According to analysts, today the Russian stock market may go slightly up, however the majority of blue chips are unlikely to avoid fluctuations.