Russian equities closed modestly higher on Friday, with the MOEX Russia Index finishing the session up 0.18% in Moscow trading.
Sector-level advances in Power, Mining and Manufacturing helped lift the benchmark, while individual stock performance was mixed across market capitalizations.
Top performers
- AFK Sistema PJSC (MCX:AFKS) was the session's strongest gainer on the MOEX Russia Index, rising 1.79% - a 0.16 point increase - to finish at 9.07.
- Transneft PJSC Pref (MCX:TRNF_p) added 1.62%, climbing 17.00 points to close at 1,080.00.
- Moskovskiy Kreditnyi Bank PAO (MCX:CBOM) advanced 1.50%, or 0.17 points, to end the day at 11.22.
Laggards
- AK ALROSA PJSC (MCX:ALRS) was the largest decliner among the highlighted names, falling 1.52% or 0.36 points to a close of 23.28.
- VK Company Ltd (MCX:VKCO) dropped 0.86%, or 2.05 points, to finish at 236.90.
- OZON (MCX:OZON) decreased 0.64%, or 24.50 points, to end at 3,788.00.
Market breadth on the Moscow Stock Exchange favored rising issues, with 128 stocks closing higher compared with 111 that fell. Fifteen stocks were unchanged at the close.
The Russian Volatility Index - RVI, which tracks implied volatility in MOEX Russia Index options, rose 4.30% to 33.46, marking a new one-month high for the gauge.
Commodities and FX snapshot
- Gold Futures for December delivery declined 0.18%, or $6.85, settling at $3,878.45 per troy ounce.
- Crude oil for December delivery rose 0.32%, or $0.28, to $89.02 per barrel.
- The January Brent contract increased 0.45%, or $0.43, to trade at $96.25 per barrel.
- USD/RUB moved lower by 0.13% to 82.69, while EUR/RUB fell 0.37% to 91.17.
On the broader currency front, the US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.21% at 103.32.
This session's trading illustrated a modestly positive close for the Russian equity market, accompanied by an uptick in implied volatility and mixed signals from commodity and currency markets. The advance-decline split indicated a slightly larger group of stocks gaining ground than falling, as several notable names recorded both gains and losses within the same sectoral backdrop.