Russian RTS and MICEX suspend trading on FFMS demand till 12.30 Moscow time

/REUTERS, Moscow, Olga Popova, Polina Vorobyeva, Andrew Ostroukh, September 30, 08/ - Two Russian stock exchanges - RTS and MICEX - today have suspended trades till 12.30 Moscow time on FFMS demand after the collapse in Asia and USA, which ,according to analysts, may lead to a sharp market fall in RF. "Trades in all instruments have been stopped on FFMS demand" - an RTS representative said. Later FFMS informed that the decision on trade halt is effective till 12.30 Moscow time. Till that time FFMS banned all unsecured short sales beginning 10.00 Moscow time. "This attempt is likely to prevent a sharp market fall after the fall on the western trades floors - FFMS acted preventively for not to stop trades in some securities because of a sharp fall" - Andrew Kuznetsov, analyst of Troika Dialog considers. "It is hard to say how effective it will be: the market is likely to try to play back the fall of the western floors". Trades today were opened for several minutes. RTS Index managed to decrease by 0.05 % to 1,193.53 points, MICEX Index - by 1.07 % to 1,008.77 points. At that, liquid securities sharply fell in prices from 5.8 to 9.8 %. "I think this (stop) is to hold loaned securities from devaluation, and not to decrease securing on repo deals and not to admit another lump of divestiture" - Roman Kuznetsov (IB Trust) said. Two weeks ago, after panic divestiture on Russian share market, FFMS ordered to stop trades on two exchanges - they resumed two days later. During the forced pause, investors` attention is likely to be focused on the dynamics of the Russian companies' depositary receipts abroad. "Bids are already low in London - Kuznetsov says. - All volumes had gone there last time, London will function as a thermometer (in this case)". At trades opening on Tuesday Russian companies' receipts in London fell within 5 %. The other indicator on Russian market today is FORTS - the term sector of exchange, where trades are being continued. December futures on RTS Index, which is the most popular and liquid instrument of the RF future market, indicates negative moods of market participants and is traded at 111.990, which may be compared with Index value at 1,119.90 points. World stock floors experience hard fall, as the House of Representatives of the USA Congress rejected the $700 bn. financial institutions support plan, proposed by the White House. Oil is still declining after plummeting $10 a day before. [2008-09-30]