Geoffrey Smith 

Investing.com — European stock market opened mixed Thursday before a crucial day of diplomacy to stop Russia’s war against Ukraine.

At three summits held in Brussels, Western leaders are expected to try to increase pressure on Vladimir Putin and end the conflict. The NATO leaders first will be there, followed by the G7 and then the European Union. Joe Biden from the U.S. will attend each summit, trying to persuade Germany of the importance of closing the sanctions loopholes which allow the sale of Russian oil. Given that Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor, reiterated on Wednesday his opposition to an immediate halt to Russian energy purchase orders it is unlikely to make any progress.

Putin announced that Russia would require that “hostile” countries make payments in rubles for energy supplies. The announcement sent the ruble to its highest point against the dollar ever since Russian tanks cross the border last month. This would force the West, which has already frozen its foreign currency reserves by the U.S., EU and Japanese authorities, to transact business with Russia’s central bank.

The dollar was at $1.098989 by 4:15 AM ET (015 GMT) and the euro was 0.1% lower. France had the top performing market, with a 0.2% increase. Sweden’s OMX 30, however, was less successful with a 0.4% drop.   

Russian assets were, however, more buoyant. Only 95 rubles to the dollar were traded, which is a half-point increase from the lows it reached in the immediate aftermath. In response to news that Russia’s sovereign fund was buying in an effort to stabilize prices, the MOEX ruble index rose 9.6%. Short-selling has been banned by the central bank, but not all Russian equities are back in trading. 

Further west however, evidence was found of ongoing disruption of economic activity within this market, which has grown to be an important one for many European firms. French automaker Renault (PA) Issued a warning about profit and stated it would cease production of brand name cars in Russia and might even consider selling 68% of Avtovaz’s controlling stake. Avtovaz is Russia’s most important car manufacturer. Renault stock dropped another 1.8%, already losing 25% since the invasion. Nestle, the food and drink company, also announced that it would not sell its discretionary products, such as Kitkat, Nespresso and Nespresso. However, it said it will continue selling products such baby food. Nestle stock fell 0.2%. 

The U.K.’s currency was flat. Sterling also fell against the dollar one day after government cuts to fuel duty and income tax to help consumers purchase power. An analysis found that Treasury chief Rishi Sonak hadn’t gone as far as they might have hoped, considering the surprising improvement in U.K. finances over the past months and the receding pandemic. 

Fashion retailer is one of the notable mover. Next After reducing its profit guidance by 10%, LON fell 3.1%