Russia stocks finished the trading session in positive territory on Thursday, with strength concentrated in Oil & Gas, Power and Telecoms names that helped lift the MOEX Russia Index.
At the close in Moscow, the MOEX Russia Index was up 0.49%.
The session's top performers on the MOEX Russia Index included TATNEFT n.a. V.D. Shashin (MCX:TATN), which advanced 2.74% or 16.70 points to finish at 626.00. Bank VTB PJSC (MCX:VTBR) added 2.55% or 2.14 points to close at 85.94, and TATNEFT n.a. V.D. Shashin Pref (MCX:TATN_p) rose 2.32% or 13.20 points to end the day at 582.10.
On the downside, Magnitogorskiy Metallurgicheskiy Kombinat PAO (MCX:MAGN) led laggards, slipping 2.20% or 0.68 points to 30.05 at the close. Severstal PJSC (MCX:CHMF) fell 1.92% or 18.40 points to 939.80, while Novolipetsk Steel (MCX:NLMK) declined 1.89% or 2.08 points to 108.22.
Market breadth was slightly positive, with 124 stocks rising versus 115 declining on the Moscow Stock Exchange; 14 issues finished unchanged.
The Russian Volatility Index - RVI, which tracks implied volatility in MOEX Russia Index options, moved lower by 0.68% to 23.49, marking a new one-month low.
Commodities trading showed a mixed picture. Gold Futures for April delivery were down 0.92% or 47.34 to $5,087.36 a troy ounce. Crude oil for April delivery gained 6.16% or 4.60 to reach $79.26 a barrel, and the May Brent oil contract rose 3.12% or 2.54 to trade at $83.94 a barrel.
Currency moves included USD/RUB, which rose 1.85% to 79.31, and EUR/RUB, which increased 0.80% to 91.31. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.27% at 99.00.
Market context
The late-session advances were driven by strength in energy-related issuers and select financials, while several major metals producers ended the day lower. Options-implied volatility in the MOEX equity index fell to a one-month low even as commodity prices diverged, with crude oil moving notably higher and gold retreating.