On July 24, 2008 Vladimir Putin criticized Mechel Company, and next day it resulted in quotations fall of the Russian stocks. This was the reason to draw the rating of the Russian stock market’s worst days. Since 2000 beginning RTS (Russian Trading System) index has been falling 34 times by 5% and more within one trading session. On July, 24 market fall on the trading session totaled 5,58%. However, this day cannot take its place in Top 10 of Russia’s “black Mondays”, as in order to get to this rating, an index should lose more than 7%.

JSC TransContainer business, the largest Russia’s container railway operator, is rather attractive for investors, therefore they will be interested in the company initial public offering (IPO). Such was the opinion of Troika Dialog analyst Kirill Kazanli, who commented the decision of JSC Russian Railways (RZD) directors’ board to hold TransContainer IPO in October current year.

Review Russian markets: currency market, bond market, equity market, Mutual funds, markets statistics.

Last week was unsuccessful for the Russian stock market. Indices have demonstrated considerable fall. For instance, MICEX index (Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange) went down below 1500 points level, thus an attempt to exceed this mark was unsuccessful. From the technical point of view, this demonstrates the market weakness and probable further drop.

First foreign fund with the Russian stock exchange index appears before long. Japan’s investment bank Nomura has registered a fund with index of RTS stock exchange (Russian Trading System). In market participants’ opinion, foreign investors are interested in the Russian index in terms of quotations growth’s prospects of the energy sector companies foremost, as RTS index lists their stocks mainly.

While shareholders funnel their assets out of mutual funds, retail investors from the Land of the Rising Sun take interest in Russia’s issuers. Russian managing companies coupled with Japanese companies establish funds that do not differ much from regular share mutual funds by filling.

On July, 16 the government-regulated Federal Grid Company of Unified Energy System JSC (JSC FGC UES) has started to trade its stocks on stock exchanges. From the start FGC capitalization totals $24 billion – at the lowest level of forecasts. Gazprom became the largest minority stockholder of the company with 4% stocks. The market has been for long waiting for securities, as their weight in energy assets’ package is 16-20%. FGC and RusHydro are considered prospective “blue chips”. However, energy companies’ quotations are currently falling, and analysts do not wait their growth before autumn

Managing companies will soon get an opportunity to earn at falling market. This becomes possible due to wide use of futures contracts. As it became known, Federal Financial Markets Service (FFMS) has elaborated core provisions of the document that regulates risks of managers in terms of such contracts use.

Analysis agencies Dealogic and Thomson Financial summed up activity results of investment banks at mergers and acquisitions market (M&A) in the first 2008 half-year. Russian investment banks have significantly improved their positions in the final rating over the Eastern Europe. Their participation in energy companies’ consultations within RAO UES of Russia reorganization has played the major role.

Vysochaishy OJSC, gold-mining company, has twice tried to hold IPO, but gave the idea up. And it has made the right option: now the company securities are more expensive. Vysochaishy stocks’ placement at LSE was set to early 2007, but then it was put off to May. However, it never took place. Then Vysochaishy stockholders were afraid of the competitor – Polyus Gold OJSC – that could purchase the major issue part through agents. At that moment, according to calculations of MDM-Bank analysts, the company cost $350-450 million. And one and a half year on Vysochaishy OJSC was already estimated at $650 million.