Russia's equity market finished the trading day in negative territory on Friday, driven by declines in mining, oil and gas and power segments. At the close in Moscow, the MOEX Russia Index was down 1.27%.
Among individual movers, Bank VTB PJSC (MCX:VTBR) was one of the session's brighter spots, rising 0.28% or 0.27 points to finish at 94.29. Polyus PJSC (MCX:PLZL) also advanced, adding 0.08% or 1.80 points to end at 2,289.80. GDR ROS AGRO PLC ORD SHS (MCX:AGRODR) was unchanged at 1,083.80, recording a 0.00% move in late trade.
At the other end of the tape, AK ALROSA PJSC (MCX:ALRS) led declines, slipping 3.85% or 1.20 points to close at 29.96. AFK Sistema PJSC (MCX:AFKS) fell 3.31% or 0.41 points to 11.94, and VK Company Ltd (MCX:VKCO) dropped 3.23% or 8.75 points to 262.10.
Market breadth on the Moscow Stock Exchange showed a clear skew toward losers: 207 stocks declined, 32 advanced and 12 finished unchanged.
Certain individual stocks moved to fresh lows during the session. Shares of AK ALROSA PJSC fell to five-year lows, closing at 29.96 after the 3.85% decline. AFK Sistema PJSC’s shares declined to 52-week lows, finishing at 11.94 following the 3.31% drop. GDR ROS AGRO PLC ORD SHS remained unchanged at 1,083.80, a 52-week low level at the close.
Volatility also ticked up: the Russian Volatility Index - RVI, which tracks implied volatility of options on the MOEX Russia Index, rose 2.34% to 22.31.
Commodity markets showed mixed signals during the session. Gold futures for June delivery inched higher by 0.03% or 1.40 to trade at 4,725.40 a troy ounce. In oil markets, the June contract for U.S. crude fell 1.01% or 0.97 to $94.88 a barrel, while the June Brent contract rose 0.79% or 0.83 to $105.90 a barrel.
Currency moves accompanied the equity weakness. The USD/RUB rate declined 0.57% to 75.44, while EUR/RUB fell 0.51% to 88.19. The U.S. Dollar Index Futures was lower by 0.25% at 98.36.
The following promotional information was part of the original report: it argues that superior data can improve investment selection, and describes a product named InvestingPro that pairs institutional-grade data with AI-driven insights to help investors identify potential opportunities. The text notes that such tools do not guarantee winners, and ends with a prompt to investigate "the best investments of 2026" via a feature called WarrenAI. This language was included in the session's original copy.