By Olga Popova and Arno Schuetze

MOSCOW/FRANKFURT, Oct 6 (Reuters) – Russian shipping company Sovcomflot is guiding investors to expect its initial public offering (IPO) to price at the low end of the marketing range, two bookrunners organising the transaction said on Tuesday.

The first big stock market float by a Russian company in a couple of years comes as wider investor sentiment towards Moscow has turned negative after the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, protests in Belarus and renewed clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Russian assets, and the rouble in particular, have been under pressure since August, with the sell-off intensifying as rising coronavirus cases globally and at home add to investor concerns.

Increased volatility has weighed on investor demand in many markets and a number of IPOs have been priced at the low end of the marketing range, including Lithuanian utility Ignitis and German defence supplier Hensoldt .