02/19 10:29 Russian shares end up boosted by Western buyers
MOSCOW, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Russian share prices ended at new highs on Friday as a buying frenzy by Western investors pushed the crisis-worn market into a new rally.
Volume in the key Russian Trading System, the country's main market, soared to over $11.2 million on the foreign buying, a week after the market rallied on the back of renewed interest among domestic investors.
"Unlike last week, when buying was led by Russian investors, today we have seen Western institutional investors return with a vengeance," said Martin Diggle, a director at Brunswick Warburg brokerage.
Some traders were cautious about what the latest gains meant to the market, devastated by the start of the crisis last August, but most seemed confident it could preface an even bigger comeback.
"The kind of buyers we are seeing today are long-term buyers who up until now have had low Russia margins. It seems that some of them want to correct that," Diggle said.
"The Russian market was by far the worst performing last year. With things as low as they have gotten, there is a lot of room for growth."
The RTS1-Interfax share index <.IRTS> reached a new high for the year, up 5.57 percent to close at 70.22, while the broader Reuters real-time Russian composite <.RRC1> added 6.99 percent, ending at 188.78, down from 190.82 earlier in the day.
Traders were mixed about what sparked the day's rally.
Some said it was remarks on Thursday by Mark Mobius, head of emerging markets at Templeton Investment Management, who said Russia would be 1999's best-performing emerging market.
Others said the market might still be benefiting from news of a proposed domestic debt restructuring deal that could funnel some $200 million into the crisis-hit market.
Oil major LUKoil <LKOH.RTS> was at the top of RTS turnover, gaining 9.47 percent to $5.20, after having slipped from $5.20.
National power utility Unified Energy System <EESR.RTS>, added 9.76 percent to close at $0.045 while Mosenergo <MSNG.RTS> was up 6.44 percent at $0.0215.
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