OREANDA-NEWS. On Friday, November 9, the Russian stock market  turned south,  led  lower by retreating blue chip stocks. After testing new record highs in morning trading, equities reversed course, heading into the red on the back of sliding commodities prices and ongoing negativity on Western capital markets. The session’s heaviest casualties were oils and banks. On the upside, it was a good day for telecoms, which outperformed the market. The RTS  Index  rose  to  record  2,301.74,  only  to  pull  back  1.14%,  closing  at  2,288.15. Trading volumes were run-of-the-mill.

Adding  to  the  recent downbeat news  flow on global capital markets were  reports  that Barclays, one of Britain’s biggest banks, could write off BP10 bn. Bank shares took another hammering on news that Wachovia Corporation lost $1.1 bn last month as a result of the subprime mortgage  implosion.  In  the upshot, Russia’s  two biggest  lenders, Sberbank and VTB, shed 1.54% and 2.26%, respectively.

Norilsk Nickel’s (+0.6%) constant seesawing never ceases to amaze the market. Bucking the downturn in nonferrous metals prices, the miner managed a limited upswing on Friday on continuing speculation of a possible merger between BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. After trading up to a new all-time maximum of Rb 7,706 ($315.17), the world’s biggest nickel miner spent the rest of the session oscillating between upside and downside.

Once again, Antanta Capital experts advise investors to shorten their positions in this stock. On Friday afternoon, Brent contracts retreated, putting pressure on Russian O&G names. Hardest  hit  was  Surgutneftegaz,  which  tumbled  3.85%,  although  Gazprom  escaped relatively unscathed, edging down 0.72% and outperforming the market. By a wide margin, Friday’s top advancers were telecoms. MTS spiked 3.15% on vibrant demand, surging to a new record high of Rb 367.49 ($15.03).

Other star performers were Far East Telecom, which shot up 3.22%, and Siberia Telecom, which soared 3.9%. In our view, Russia  telecoms are a highly appealing  investment option given  the oil market’s recent  lackluster  performance.  Two  drawbacks,  however,  are  the  narrow  choice  of available plays, as well as the segment’s relatively poor liquidity, Antanta Capital analysts believe.