Trading remained thin in Russian securities Friday with The Moscow Times Index gaining 1.23 points over the week to close at 146.53 as the markets got ready to take a two-week holiday, dealers and analysts said.


The MT Index will not be published over the next two weeks as the exodus of Western investors during the Christmas period will effectively close the markets. Foreign investors still account for the majority of trading on Moscow's markets, brokers say. The MT Index will reappear Jan. 11.


Advancers led decliners in the ruble-based prices of the 30 companies listed in the MT index, with 15 rising, eight falling and seven showing no change. In dollar terms, the index fell 1.41 points to close at 92.91.


Nevertheless, there was some upturn in activity as shareholders tried to close their positions before the year's end, offering "some very attractive packages," said Firuz Mansurkhodzhayev, head of the stocks department at Grant brokerage house.


Demand for aluminum shares remained strong, despite an order Wednesday from the State Property Committee to halt trading in the industry's stocks pending a probe of ownership and registration.


The move -- prompted by a dispute between Krasnoyarsk Aluminum and the British company Transworld -- appeared to have little effect on the factory's shares, which closed the week at a new high of 66,050 rubles ($19), up 25.5 percent from last week.


Shares of Bratsk Aluminum Plant shot up by 9 percent to 83,450 rubles apiece Friday. Sayansky Aluminum gained over 3 percent, quoted at 79,900 rubles Friday, as strategic investors continued their efforts to acquire equity in the industry, said Sergei Skatershchikov of the Skate Press Consulting Agency.


A spokesman for the Russian Brokerage House said the company had stopped all operations with aluminum securities because of the State Property Committee decision, while Yury Ogoronik, an analyst with Olma brokerage house, said some of his company's clients had called in to sell their shares.


Moscow department store GUM also showed impressive growth in the past week in the wake of the successful sale of 1.2 million shares, raising at least $7.2 million. Stock in GUM closed the week at 27,350 rubles, up 21 percent from last week.


Less fortunate, however, was Red October, the Moscow chocolate factory, which saw its shares drop by 7 percent over the week to 16,850 rubles Friday, after its fourth issue of public shares was disappointingly undersubscribed. Final results released earlier this week showed the issue raised just $11 million compared to the hoped-for figure of $20.5 million.