Russian stocks posted a slight rally this week after plummeting more than four weeks in a row, with traders crediting the gain partially to a successful placement of Mosenergo securities in the United States.


The Moscow Times Index posted gains for the week of 2.91 points in ruble terms and 1.20 points in dollar terms to rest at 130.58 and 63.83, respectively. On Friday, the ruble index rose 1.31 points.


Eighteen issues advanced, 17 declined and 15 were unchanged among the 50 widely traded shares on the MT Index.


"In general it was a fairly quiet week," said one trader with Troika-Dialog. "The spreads have been relatively wide this week, keeping things stable."


Noyabrskneftegaz was the top stock for the week, gaining 11.24 percent to settle at 22,320 rubles ($4.95). Other winners were Purneftegaz, up 9.62 percent to 10,260 rubles, and Surgutneftegaz, up 9.38 percent to 630 rubles.


Losers included AvtoVAZ, down 29.57 percent to 10,960 rubles per share, Varyeganneftegaz, down 19.28 percent to 6,040 rubles and Orenburgneft, down 9.62 percent to 6,310 rubles.


"By the end of the week a certain demand arose, and I can say with a considerable degree of confidence that next week, the prices will still be rising for the main blue chips," said a trader with the Russian Brokerage House.


Traders said the market was aided by a good presentation of Mosenergo's American Depository Receipts by Salomon Brothers in the United States. The issue was worth 2 percent of the firm's stock, with one ADR valued at 30 Mosenergo shares, Reuters reported.


The energy company saw its stock rise from $0.300/$0.311 to $0.295/0.305, the agency said.


One trader attributed the rally to renewed foreign interest sparked by the Russian Capital Markets & Investor Conference scheduled for next week.