Emerging Market Shares Barely Up; Russia Rising Strongly

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Emerging market shares trading in New York were struggling to get a clear direction early Thursday afternoon in thinly traded volumes ahead of the holidays.

Most Latin American stocks were heading south except for some Brazilian ones, and among Asian shares, Indonesia and Taiwan were making moderate gains. Traders said stocks here were generally tracking their domestic counterparts.

Meanwhile, Russia's biggest shares were posting substantial gains, with the country's largest mobile operator Mobile Telesystems (MBT), or MTS, rising 4.1% to $123.91 after Germany's Deutsche Telekom (DT) said it would sell a 12% stake in the company. The news is viewed as positive for MTS as the sale increases the amount of freely traded shares in one of Russia's best-run companies.

VimpelCom (VIP), another Russian mobile services firm, was 2% higher at $31.42 and Russian steel maker, Mechel (MTL), was soaring 9.2% to $19.50.

The Bank of New York's Russia American Depositary Receipts index was up 1.7%. The broader Emerging Markets ADR index was almost flat, up 0.01% at 144.36 points, with the Latin America subindex up just 0.1% and the Asia subindex rising around 0.2%.

"There's absolutely nothing going on. You'll see a lot more winding down in days to come," said a trader who deals in Asian ADRs.

Most Taiwan technology stocks were advancing with chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) increasing 1.1% to $8.25 and flat-panel manufacturer AU Optronics (AUO) 0.4% up at $14.20.

South Korea's liquid crystal display maker L.G. Phillips (LPL) was also rising 2% to $17.86, with investor sentiment on the stock boosted by hopes that flat panel prices may rise from January. But steel giant Posco (PKX) was shedding 2.2% to trade at $43.75.

Indonesia's largest telecommunications firm, Telekomunikasi Indonesia (TLK), continued to make strong gains after the company said earlier this week that it is in preliminary talks to buy a 30% stake in a South Asian telecom firm. Telkom's share was up nearly 2% at $20.75 while Indosat (IIT), the country's main carrier of international telecom services, was rising 1.4% to $30.26.

Chinese shares were falling after the local market closed lower on worries new rules on nontradable shares will lead to a flood of stocks sold on the market. Oil company Sinopec (SNP) was down 2.2% at $40.03 and China Mobile (CHL) was off 1.3% at $16.97. Higher oil prices were also weighing on China Eastern Airlines (CEA), which was dropping 1.3% to $22.11.

Indian ADRs were a mixed bag, with pharmaceuticals company Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (RDY) gaining 1.2% to $19.29 but software services firms Wipro (WIT) and Satyam Computer (SAY) losing 1.8% and 1.2% to $24.60 and $24.85, respectively.

In Latin America, shares of most countries were retreating as investors took profit.

"There is a small selloff in Mexican shares after recent rises," said an ADR trader.

Mexican wireless carrier and market heavyweight America Movil (AMX) was slumping almost 1% to $49.85 and broadcaster Grupo Televisa (TV) down 0.3% at $59.46. Transport group TMM (TMM) was sliding 3.5% to $3.29 after posting substantial gains earlier in the week.

However, Telecom Argentina (TEO) was making smart gains - up 2.1% at $9.80 - after its share suffered recent losses. The company last week gave into a striking telephone union's demand for a salary hike.

A rate rise by Brazil's central bank Wednesday didn't seem to be hurting investor sentiment there as the monetary tightening was in line with analysts' expectations. Iron ore miner CVRD (RIO) was jumping 3.8% to $26.30 and fixed-line operator Telemar (TNE) was up 0.7% at $15.71. However, state-run oil company Petrobras (PBR) was moving 0.1% lower to $37.77.

Oh geez, now we are going to get daily posts from you each and every time Russian shares move substantially up (but presumably no post if they move substantially down). Splendid - that's just the lagniappe this site was missing, and now YOU are here to fill the void.

First, this covers all emerging markets, second I posted a lot of articles to do with economics and not Russian economics. So get off your high horse. Don't you have a Bosniak rally to go to or something?

Not until Sunday, and then it is off to Kosovo on Monday, and Albania on Tuesday. Wednesday, I go to Croatia to meet with the nationalists there, and then, my schedule is open again, and I can check in on your doings once again, just to see what is brewing in that Byzantine Orthodox mind of yours.

Have you forgotten that Thursday we've got our Gazprom shareholder's meeting.

And to think - you wanted to buy Yukos!

just to see what is brewing in that Byzantine Orthodox mind of yours.

Oh thanks for posting that. I love the very word Byzantine, and seeing it in print is always a joy.

All I have to say is thank goodness we decided you'd be the brawn and I'd be the brains in this outfit.

And don't worry about Rumsfeld - apparently any shortcomings the Army is experiencing are to be laid at Clinton's feet, so it's all good.

Well Reagan got a long run out of Carter, and even Bush pere got his digs in with the scraps. So Clinton should be good for some time yet.

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