MOSCOW, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Russia's main share index ended
with a near 14 percent gain on Friday, regaining some ground
after panic-stricken price falls for most of the week on fears
of financial crisis and rouble devaluation.
The leading RTS1-Interfax <.IRTS> index ended 13.67 percent
higher at 115.00 although volume was a thin $23.6 million. The
gain left the index with a 13.4 percent loss since its close at
132.86 last Friday.
Dealers said the slide in share prices to two-year lows over
the last week had tempted some back into the market, with oil
shares in particular picking up strongly.
However, the outlook for the market remained uncertain given
strong fears of a devaluation and debt default if Prime Minister
Sergei Kiriyenko cannot drag the country out of its financial
crisis.
Oil shares, seen less likely to suffer from a devaluation,
put in a good performance and outperformed the general market.
LUKOil <LKOH.RTS> ended 29.5 percent higher at $6.15 while
Tatneft <TATN.RTS> climbed 26.5 percent to $0.215.
Other blue chips also showed closing gains, with flagship
electricity grid UES <EESR.RTS> at $0.0895 versus $0.0815 and
Rostelkom <RTKM.RTS> at $1.295 versus $1.26.
((Moscow Newsroom, +7095 941-8520
moscow.newsroom@reuters.com))
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