MOEX Russia Index Hits 3-Year Low on Broad-Based Sector Declines

Russia's main stock market benchmark, the MOEX Russia Index, closed down 1.62% on Thursday, hitting a new three-year low. The decline was driven by a broad-based sell-off, with significant losses concentrated in the country's key oil & gas, power, and mining sectors.

Market Internals

The negative sentiment was widespread across the Moscow Stock Exchange, where declining stocks significantly outnumbered advancing ones by a margin of 183 to 59, with 9 issues ending the session unchanged. This indicates a lack of broad investor appetite for Russian equities during the trading day.

Investor uncertainty also appeared to be on the rise. The Russian Volatility Index (RVI), which measures the implied volatility of MOEX Russia Index options, jumped 7.87% to 45.53, marking a new six-month high.

Notable Movers

Several large-cap stocks experienced steep declines, weighing heavily on the index. The session's worst performers included:

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• Mobil’nye Telesistemy PJSC (MTSS), which plummeted 13.37% to a 52-week low.
• Moskovskaya Birzha PJSC (MOEX), the exchange operator itself, which fell 9.80%, also to a 52-week low.
• Moskovskiy Kreditnyi Bank PAO (CBOM), which declined 9.33%.

On the other hand, a few stocks bucked the negative trend. Transneft PJSC Pref (TRNF_p) was a notable gainer, rising 3.04%, while Bank VTB PJSC (VTBR) edged up 0.25%.

Commodities and Currency

In the commodities market, crude oil prices were mixed. August WTI crude futures fell, while the Brent oil contract for September delivery saw a slight gain. Meanwhile, the Russian ruble remained stable against major currencies, with both the USD/RUB and EUR/RUB pairs showing no change at the close, according to market data.