> Moscow's bourses are easing foreign investor access. Russia is on vacation until January 10 - a week from today. Government offices, banks, industries, etc, will remain closed. But, for the first time, Moscow's bourses will be open for trading throughout this period. Activity will inevitably be low as most domestic investors will stay away and prices will move to reflect the trend in global markets and in the GDR/ADR markets (open for normal business). This year's holiday opening is part of the effort to raise Moscow's profile as an international bourse after the merger of MICEX and RTS in mid-December.
Legislation to create a domestic central depositary was introduced on January 1 and foreign investors will be allowed to open accounts at that depositary in July. That has the potential to be a game-changer for Moscow as it will open up the local share market to a significantly larger pool of global big money funds that have either shunned or have been prohibited from investing without that access.
> Positive start to global markets. News flow from Russia (state and corporate) is expected to be very light this week. There are no scheduled events. Chinese and Indian manufacturing indicators have topped consensus and led to modest but broad gains across most markets and commodities this morning. How Russian shares finish will depend on the US manufacturing data out later.
> Watch wheat prices. One second-tier stock to look out for is Razgulay Group (GRAZ RX). The price of wheat rose over 12% through the last 12 days of December and added another 1.5% yesterday on the Paris exchange. Reports of very dry conditions in major growing regions of South America and across Texas have led to fears of a significant fall in supply this spring.
