Russian share prices finished the session lower on Friday, led by declines across the Mining, Oil & Gas and Power sectors that pushed the main benchmark to a new low.
Market close - At the Moscow close the MOEX Russia Index fell 2.13% to 1, indicating a new three-year low for the benchmark. The session's downward move reflected broad selling as energy and mining names underperformed.
Top gainers
- Severstal PJSC (MCX:CHMF) rose 1.00%, gaining 5.40 points to finish at 543.80.
- PIK SHb PJSC (MCX:PIKK) added 0.72%, up 4.10 points to close at 571.10.
- Magnit PJSC (MCX:MGNT) ticked higher by 0.28%, or 5.00 points, ending the session at 1,789.00.
Largest decliners
- Polyus PJSC (MCX:PLZL) plunged 10.79%, dropping 144.00 points to 1,190.00 at the close.
- AK ALROSA PJSC (MCX:ALRS) declined 3.23%, slipping 0.61 points to 18.28.
- Federal Hydro Generating Company RusHydro PJSC (MCX:HYDR) was down 2.76%, a 0.01 point fall to 0.28.
Breadth and notable price floors - Decliners outnumbered advancers on the Moscow Stock Exchange by 175 to 65, while 10 issues finished unchanged. Several large-cap names hit extended lows during the session: Polyus reached five-year lows after its 10.79% drop, AK ALROSA fell to all-time lows following its 3.23% decline, and RusHydro moved to five-year lows on its 2.76% fall.
Volatility - The Russian Volatility Index - RVI, which reflects implied volatility for options on the MOEX Russia Index, rose 1.05% to 46.01, marking a new six-month high for the gauge.
Commodities and FX - In commodities trading, August gold futures were down 0.29%, a fall of 11.90 to $4,128.90 a troy ounce. Crude oil for August delivery slipped 0.79% or 0.57 to $71.51 a barrel, while the September Brent contract eased 0.38% or 0.29 to $76.01 a barrel.
On the currency front, USD/RUB strengthened, rising 1.52% to 77.31, and EUR/RUB increased 0.96% to 87.87. The US Dollar Index Futures rose 0.08% to trade at 100.77.
Session takeaway - The session closed with clear downside momentum across key resource and utility stocks, contributing to a broad-market decline and higher implied volatility for MOEX options. Commodities and FX moves accompanied the equity weakness, with oil lower and the ruble weakening against major currencies.