19th May, 2005

Thursday’s trading was mixed on the Russian equity market. Rising Western stock indices coupled with declining global oil prices created an uncertain environment for investors. The internal news flow was moderately positive.

The media reported yesterday that Morgan Stanley has wrapped up its valuation of Rosneft along with the required stake in Gazprom and forwarded it to the Federal Property Management Fund. However, the independent appraiser said it would only make an official comment once the state property agency has publicly acknowledged receipt of the appraisal report.

The other piece of news, shrugged off by the market, was a report that a $13.3 mln tax claim was served against MTS. As a matter of fact, the ADR stock quotes of Russia’s number 1 operator were flat by the close of yesterday’s trading session.

Trading on the benchmark was a mixed bag on Thursday, with RTS advancers including: Rostelecom (+0.25%), Sberabank (+0.31%), NorNickel (+1.45%). The decliners featured Lukoil (-0.30%) and UES (-0.35%). The RTS Index was down fractionally (0.05%) to 647.08 on light volumes amounting to $5.5 mln.

MICEX blue chips were also mixed yesterday: the gainers closed within a band ranging from +0.17% (Sberbank) to +0.58% (Sibneft). A number of companies closed in the red, including NorNickel (-0.09%), UES (-0.19%), Tatneft (-0.26%) and Mosenergo (-2.16%). The MICEX Index eased 0.09% to 586.8 on thin volumes totaling $582.27 mln.

Gazprom finally ran out of steam yesterday, losing 0.39% on SPICEX. The last deal was closed at Rub 79.49 with 11 mln shares changing hands.

Finam
Russian Brokerage Company
http://www.fin-rus.com