Rouble steadies near 60 vs dollar, Yandex shares outperform market

VK

23/08/2022 09:19

* This content was produced in Russia where the law
restricts
coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine

    MOSCOW, Aug 23 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble firmed
slightly on Tuesday after initially easing beyond 60 against the
dollar, while shares in leading internet firm Yandex
outperformed the market after the company said it was selling
some assets to state-controlled rival VK.
    At 0810 GMT, the rouble was 0.1% stronger against the dollar
at 59.80  RUBUTSTN=MCX  after hitting 60.41 as it headed away
from a near four-week high of 57.70 it reached on Friday.
    Against the euro, the rouble gained 0.1% to 59.40
 EURRUBTN=MCX  as the European currency dropped to a fresh
two-decade trough against the greenback.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2ZZ09N  
    Alfa Bank said in a note that the rouble was poised to
advance as the end-of-month tax period approached.
    Month-end tax payments usually prompt export-focused
companies to convert their foreign currency revenues to meet
local liabilities.
    Year-to-date, the rouble has become the world's
best-performing currency as a result of capital controls that
Russia has imposed to mitigate financial stability risks.
    Rouble volatility has subsided after wild swings that saw it
hit a record low of 121.53 to the dollar on the Moscow Exchange
in March soon after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into
Ukraine on Feb. 24. It then rallied to a seven-year peak of
50.01 in June.
    On the stock market, the dollar-denominated RTS index
 .IRTS  rose 0.9% to 1,184.6 points. The rouble-based MOEX
Russian index  .IMOEX  was 1% higher at 2,249.7 points.
    Shares in Yandex  YNDX.MM  jumped 2.3% after it said it had
agreed to sell its news aggregator and yandex.ru homepage to
state-controlled rival VK  VKCOq.L , a dramatic move that could
further limit Russians' access to independent media.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2ZZ167

    For Russian equities guide see  RU/EQUITY 
    For Russian treasury bonds see  0#RUTSY=MM 
    

 (Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Jamie Freed)
 ((andrey.ostroukh@thomsonreuters.com;))