MOSCOW — According to Bank of Moscow analysts, as the Russian market moves to a historic high, trader activity is declining. Yesterday's trade was marked by mild profit fixing in most highly marketable securities, and the RTS index declined by 0.4 percent to 755 points, accompanied by moderate trade volumes. The greatest activity was observed in RAO UES of Russia (down by 0.1 percent), LUKoil (down by 0.7 percent), and Norilsk Nickel (down by 0.4 percent). With Gazprom (down by 1.2 percent), market participants were more active, yet the trade volume remained rather low despite that. In New York, Russian stocks were weak due to a sharp decline in oil prices despite the overall upsurge on the US stock market. Most receipts were traded below Moscow closing rates on the US over-the-counter market. Cellular communication providers: MTS (down by 1.1 percent to USD35.48 per share), VimpelCom (down by 1.0 percent to USD37.17) yielded to the overall trend. In the second tier securities, acquisition persisted despite the correction mood in the blue chips.

Bank of Moscow analysts believe that yesterday's correction trend was of a merely technical character. The recent growth was too fast, investors need some time to get accustomed to new levels. They expect the market to go up again next week, and the RTS index to reach 785-800 points already in July.