Russia stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Telecoms, Oil & Gas and Manufacturing sectors led shares lower. At the close in Moscow, the MOEX Russia Index declined 0.10%.
Among individual movers, Magnit PJSC (MGNT) was the session's top performer on the index, rising 2.70% or 85.50 points to finish at 3,257.50. MMC NORILSK NICKEL PJSC (GMKN) added 2.54% or 3.90 points to close at 156.90, while Bank VTB PJSC (VTBR) advanced 2.37% or 1.93 points to end the session at 83.20.
On the downside, Rostelekom PJSC (RTKM) fell 3.65% or 2.41 points to trade at 63.70 at the close. Moskovskaya Birzha PJSC (MOEX) declined 1.14% or 2.07 points to finish at 179.17 and Transneft PJSC Pref (TRNF_p) was down 1.00% or 14.00 points to 1,390.00.
Broader market breadth was tilted to the downside: falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Moscow Stock Exchange by 125 to 115, while 13 issues ended unchanged.
Market-implied volatility, as measured by the Russian Volatility Index - RVI, eased 0.26% to 27.03.
Commodities saw mixed but generally positive moves. Gold Futures for April delivery rose 1.72% or 84.31 to $4,973.81 a troy ounce. In energy markets, Crude oil for delivery in March increased 0.36% or 0.23 to reach $63.52 a barrel, and the April Brent oil contract climbed 0.59% or 0.40 to trade at $67.95 a barrel.
Currency pairs tied to the ruble moved higher. USD/RUB was up 0.33% to 77.00, and EUR/RUB rose 0.73% to 91.03. Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.22% at 97.49.
Market context and takeaways
The session produced a modest decline in the benchmark with a narrow margin of losers over winners, demonstrating mixed investor sentiment. Select large-cap miners, retailers and banks outperformed, while telecommunication and exchange-related names lagged. Volatility edged lower even as commodities such as gold and crude firmed.