Ukraine's stocks: what to wait for after presidential elections

Here are some quotes from Market Watch article on possible impact of elections on Ukraine's stocksi. The main idea of the article is that elections will bring political stability and that Tymoshenko's win will bring such a stability faster for she has to spend less time to consolidate power than Yanukovich, who'd have to fill the whole power structure of Ukraine with new personnel.

"We expect a difficult political battle during and after the election to trigger a new round of negative news flow," said Anastasia Golovach of Renaissance Capital in Kiev. "Investors could decide to sell some instruments [stocks and bonds] because the stabilization of the political situation in unlikely in the short term," she said.

Ukraine's benchmark PFTS stock index rose 90% in hryvna terms last year after tumbling 74% in 2008. In dollar terms, the index rallied 83% in 2009, just as much as it dropped the previous year. Still, over the last decade, the index has surged 858% in dollar terms and 1,366% in hryvna terms, according to data from the PFTS Stock Exchange.

"Liquidity is very poor here, but if we have a stable political situation and a stable exchange rate for a few months, investors will start looking at this country," Abromavicius said.

The market capitalization of the PFTS, which consists of 20 companies, was $10.1 billion last year. The sectors that stand out are steel and iron ore, utilities and banks.

Ukraine's stocks pay off 900% over a decade

Ukraine -- in spite of the fractiousness of its political elite in recent years -- that offered an unbeatable return of nearly 900 percent over the decade, data compiled by Reuters show.

Along with Peru and Sri Lanka, Ukraine was also among the top 10 performing stock markets in 2009, a year that saw emerging equities. Ukraine's PFTS Index .PFTSI managed to double in dollar value in 2009 despite the economy's dependence on a $16.4 billion bailout programme from the International Monetary Fund.

Over the decade, the market capitalisation of the Ukrainian bourse has increased tenfold to $26 billion, fuelled by large-scale privatisation of state assets and the explosion of new securities sales. Source.