Russia's stock markets remained closed Friday after heavy selloffs.

Putin said Friday the government will invest 175 billion rubles ($6.7 billion) in the stock markets this year and has set aside at least the same amount for next year, after repeated requests from lawmakers and analysts to the Kremlin to invest part of its reserve funds in domestic stocks rather than foreign securities.

National development bank Vnesheconombank will start placing funds in domestic shares next week, Putin told reporters ahead of the first meeting of a government commission on foreign investment, held at his residence outside Moscow.

The Kremlin had previously said it would set aside $20 billion to shore up plunging markets _ part of a wider package now totaling more than $200 billion aimed at supporting the markets and the banking sector in the form of loans and relief.

Putin's announcement was the first confirmation that the government will start buying shares. It also was the first time an asset manager was named. It was unclear, however, whether Friday's announcement reflected a decrease in the amount to be invested in the markets. Market players say that while they have seen no clear sign that any government share purchases have already taken place, they cannot rule it out.

Putin did not specify the types of shares to be purchased. The government has said previously that it would look first at buying stocks in large companies where the state already holds controlling stakes, such as natural gas supplier Gazprom, oil company Rosneft, VTB Bank and the Alrosa diamond miner.

Britain's rescue plan also includes taking stakes in banks through preference shares. U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Friday that the Bush administration will move ahead with a plan to buy stock in financial institutions under a $700 billion measure the U.S. Congress passed last week.

Earlier Friday, Russia's parliament approved previously announced measures to shore up banks. These include $50 billion of refinancing money to be made available via Vnesheconombank and a 950 billion ruble ($36.3 billion) injection of long-term loans into the banking sector, chiefly via state-owned Sberbank and VTB.

At the same time, Standard & Poor's ratings agency placed 13 Russian banks on negative outlook, including major institutions Alfa Bank, Troika Dialog and UralSib.

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