MOSCOW: The rouble stabilised near a more than one-week high against the dollar on Wednesday, awaiting Russia's Eurobond placement, while a sell-off on the oil market hit Russian stocks.
The battered rouble has lacked momentum recently as the market digested changes in the geopolitical landscape after the latest US sanctions against Moscow and ahead of a summit between President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Joe Biden due next month.
At 1334 GMT, the rouble eased 0.1% to 73.78 against the dollar and was flat at 90.13 versus the euro .
The rouble showed limited reaction to the expected waiving of US sanctions on the company in charge of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a move welcomed by Russian officials.
Against this backdrop, Russia picked three major banks to organise a Eurobond issue. The placement of euro-denominated bonds can take place this week, sources told Reuters.
"I think Russian sovereign Eurobond will be very well received," said Sergey Dergachev at UIP in Frankfurt, citing good credit quality and relatively low volatility.
On the domestic market, Russia raised 48 billion roubles ($650 million) in OFZ treasury bonds on Wednesday to demand of 91 billion roubles.
The rouble shrugged off a drop in prices for oil, Russia's key export, but a 3% decline in Brent crude oil to $66.67 a barrel dented Russian stock indexes.
The dollar-denominated RTS index shed 1.3% to 1,554.6. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index fell 1.4% to 3,635.5 points.
Depositary receipts in retailer Lenta outperformed the market and gained 2% on the day after it announced the acquisition of Billa Russia supermarkets in a cash deal of around $263 million, the second retail tie-up in as many days.
Shares in Russia's second-largest lender VTB jumped higher but then fell 3% on the day after Trust Bank raised $680 million from the sale of VTB shares. [nL2N2N60QM
Global depositary receipts in Russian online retailer Ozon rose nearly 3% as the company with a New York listing set the price for selling American depositary receipts (ADRs) in the company via an accelerated bookbuilding at $50 per ADR, sources said.