Russian Stocks Decline as Oil Prices Fall; MOEX Index Ends Down 1.21%

Russian equities finished lower at the close of trading on Sunday, with the benchmark MOEX Russia Index falling by 1.21%. The decline was primarily driven by broad-based weakness in the country's key commodity-producing sectors.

Sector Weakness Drags Index Lower

The retreat in the Russian market was led by significant losses in the Mining, Oil & Gas, and Power industries. This move coincided with a sharp drop in global energy prices, a critical driver for the Russian economy.

Crude oil for October delivery fell 2.43% to settle at $99.99 a barrel, while the November Brent contract declined 2.94% to $104.47 a barrel. The pressure on energy commodities directly impacted the valuation of Russia's largest producers and exporters.

Notable Stock Performance

Several individual stocks saw significant movement during the session. The day's worst performers on the index included:

Ad

• OZON (MCX:OZON), which fell 4.54%.
• AFK Sistema PJSC (MCX:AFKS), declining 3.91%.
• Rostelekom PJSC (MCX:RTKM), which was down 3.47%.

Bucking the downward trend, a few companies posted gains. Moskovskiy Kreditnyi Bank PAO (MCX:CBOM) was a top performer, rising 2.32%, while gold producer Polyus PJSC (MCX:PLZL) added 1.87%.

Volatility and Currency Moves

Despite the index's decline, market volatility appeared to ease. The Russian Volatility Index (RVI), which measures implied volatility of MOEX options, dropped 10.76% to 32.10, a new one-month low.

In currency markets, the Russian ruble weakened against the U.S. dollar, with the USD/RUB pair rising 0.64% to 84.48. The move came as the U.S. Dollar Index Futures edged up 0.04% to 98.84.