The growth continued on the Ukrainian equity market Feb. 3. The UX index gained 0.97% and the PFTS index added 0.61% during active trading. Turnover was UAH 58 mln. Second-tier stocks were in heavy demand again, with coke producer AVDK (+2.12%) the most actively traded stock with turnover of UAH 8 mln, though it rose only slightly in price due to the high volume of stocks on offer. Railcar producers KVBZ (+12.77%) and SVGZ (+5.50%) were the papers of the day on increasing demand for their products from Russian companies. ALMK (-0.14%) was the only blue chip to close in the red.

Ukrainian stocks on foreign exchanges showed mixed dynamics Wednesday. JKX (-2.7%) suffered a correction after rallying on Tuesday, and Ferrexpo (+0.6%) continued to grow.

Activity was moderate on the Ukrainian Eurobond market, which slowed after recent growth. Sovereign issues traded generally flat throughout the session, while quasi-sovereign Naftogaz traded down, losing one-quarter of a point on the day. Significant demand was observed for Alfaua and Prbank issues, which traded half a point higher yesterday. Despite the fact that the government is planning to liquidate Nadra Bank, we saw strong buying interest in the bond this week, the Nadra Eurobond having reached its historic peak in price this week.

On the Russian Eurobond market activity was similar with buyers dominant in sovereign issues. Longer-term maturity issues closed one-quarter of a point higher during the day. Among corporate names the most traded were TNK, Gazprom, RSHB and Lukoil, though without significant price changes recorded.