Story
MOEX Russia Index Closes Flat as Declining Stocks Outnumber Advancers

Summary
Russia's benchmark stock index ended Saturday's session unchanged, masking underlying market weakness as losses in major energy and materials firms were offset by modest gains in telecom and utility stocks.
The MOEX Russia Index finished Saturday's trading session flat, closing with a 0.00% change in a day of mixed performance that saw more individual stocks fall than rise.
Market Internals Show Negative Breadth
Despite the benchmark index's static close, broader market sentiment was negative. According to data from the Moscow Stock Exchange, falling stocks significantly outnumbered advancing ones by a margin of 142 to 86, with 18 issues ending the day unchanged. This divergence suggests that while the index's largest components held steady or saw minor gains, a wider swath of the market experienced selling pressure.
Reflecting the quiet session for the main index, the Russian Volatility Index (RVI), which measures the implied volatility of MOEX options, was also unchanged at 33.97.
Sector and Stock Performance
Losses were concentrated in the energy and basic materials sectors. The session's worst performers on the MOEX included:
- NOVATEK PJSC (NVTK): fell 0.98%
- Severstal PJSC (CHMF): declined 0.92%
- AK ALROSA PJSC (ALRS): was down 0.87%
AdProviding support to the index were gains in the telecommunications and utilities sectors. The top performers were:
- Rostelekom PJSC (RTKM): rose 0.41%
- RusHydro PJSC (HYDR): gained 0.38%
- Mobil’nye Telesistemy PJSC (MTSS): was up 0.34%
Commodities and Currency Movements
In the broader commodity markets, energy prices retreated. Crude oil futures for October delivery fell 2.34% to $99.53 a barrel, while the November Brent contract lost 1.56% to trade at $103.19 a barrel. In contrast, Gold futures for December delivery saw a gain of 0.37%.
The Russian ruble strengthened slightly against major currencies. The USD/RUB pair was down 0.11% to 84.42, and the EUR/RUB pair fell 0.27% to 96.72.
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