Russian rouble firms towards 60 vs dollar, Ozon depository receipts recover

The rouble may continue to show sideways movement, said Promsvyazbank analysts, with possible slight appreciation in the 59-62 range against the greenback. The rouble is the world's best-performing currency http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/GLOBAL-CURRENCIES-PERFORMANCE/0100301V041/index.html so far this year, having received an artificial boost from capital controls Russia imposed after sending tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.

The rouble strengthened on Thursday, heading towards 60 against the dollar, while Russian stocks were mixed, with Sberbank shares shrugging off new sanctions and Ozon depository receipts regaining ground after a sell-off.

By 0806 GMT, the rouble was 0.6% stronger against the dollar at 60.21, recovering from a three-day low struck in early Moscow trade. It was down 0.1% at 61.01 against the euro. The rouble may continue to show sideways movement, said Promsvyazbank analysts, with possible slight appreciation in the 59-62 range against the greenback.

The rouble is the world's best-performing currency http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/GLOBAL-CURRENCIES-PERFORMANCE/0100301V041/index.html so far this year, having received an artificial boost from capital controls Russia imposed after sending tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24. The strong rouble has helped to limit burgeoning inflation and opened the door for central bank rate cuts but is damaging to budget revenues and export-focused firms that rely on selling commodities abroad.

On the stock market, the dollar-denominated RTS index gained 0.4% to 1,110.5 points, and its rouble-based peer the MOEX Russian index was 0.1% lower at 2,121.9 points. Moscow-listed depositary receipts in Russian e-commerce firm Ozon outperformed the market and gained 6.2% after falling on Wednesday when a huge fire broke out at its warehouse near Moscow, killing one person and injuring 13.

Nasdaq-listed Ozon is one of Russia's largest e-commerce players. It was not immediately clear what value or number of goods were affected. Sberbank shares were up 0.2%, trimming overnight losses that came after the Swiss government imposed further sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine on Wednesday and targeted Russia's largest bank.

"The Russian market is likely to spend the first half of August in the red, and today should not be an exception. So far, we see no positive growth drivers," BCS Global Markets said in a report.

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