Russian Stocks Close Lower as Energy and Mining Sectors Drag Down MOEX Index

Russian equities finished Thursday's trading session in negative territory, with the benchmark MOEX Russia Index falling 1.68%. The decline was driven by significant losses across the country's key industrial sectors, including oil and gas, power, and mining.

Sector and Stock Performance

The sell-off was broad-based, with declining stocks outnumbering advancers on the Moscow Stock Exchange by a margin of 171 to 74, while 10 stocks ended the session unchanged. The losses were led by major names in the telecommunications and resource sectors.

Key decliners included:

• Mobil’nye Telesistemy PJSC (MTSS), which plunged 4.78% to close at 176.15.
• PhosAgro PJSC (PHOR), which fell 2.81%.
• Unipro PJSC (UPRO), down 2.64%.

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A few companies bucked the downward trend. Notable gainers were Magnitogorskiy Metallurgicheskiy Kombinat PAO (MAGN), which rose 0.96%, and precious metals miner Polyus PJSC (PLZL), which added 0.71%.

Market Context and Commodities

The weakness in Russian stocks coincided with a dip in global commodity prices. Crude oil for October delivery fell 1.31% to $101.09 a barrel, while the November Brent contract declined 0.20% to $103.90 a barrel, according to market data. Gold futures for December delivery also edged down 0.16%.

Despite the equity market downturn, Russia's currency remained stable, with the USD/RUB and EUR/RUB pairs reported as unchanged at 84.53 and 97.02, respectively. In a noteworthy development, the Russian Volatility Index (RVI), which measures the implied volatility of MOEX options, fell 2.08% to 35.84, suggesting the market's decline was orderly and not accompanied by a spike in investor fear.