Russian Stocks Decline as Polyus, VTB Hit Multi-Year Lows

Russian equities finished Saturday's trading session with broad-based losses, as a significant number of declining stocks pushed several major companies to multi-year or all-time lows. The negative sentiment was evident as selling pressure mounted on key blue-chip names.

Market Internals Signal Weakness

At the close on the Moscow Stock Exchange, falling stocks significantly outnumbered advancing ones by a margin of 157 to 69, with 18 issues ending unchanged, according to data from Investing.com. The report indicated the benchmark MOEX Russia Index was unchanged at 0.00%, a figure that coincided with the index reportedly hitting a new 3-year low.

Investor uncertainty appeared elevated, as the Russian Volatility Index (RVI), which measures the implied volatility of MOEX options, was also reported as unchanged at 46.01 while simultaneously touching a new 6-month high.

Blue-Chip Stocks Under Pressure

The session's downturn was led by heavy losses in the materials and financial sectors. The day's worst performers included several prominent companies hitting significant new lows.

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• Gold miner Polyus PJSC (MCX:PLZL) was the session's biggest decliner, plunging 4.92% to reach a 5-year low.
• Conglomerate AFK Sistema PJSC (MCX:AFKS) fell 1.84%, also marking a 5-year low.
• State-owned lender Bank VTB PJSC (MCX:VTBR) declined 0.96% to hit an all-time low.

A few stocks bucked the trend, with Moskovskiy Kreditnyi Bank (MCX:CBOM) rising 2.35% and TATNEFT (MCX:TATN) adding 0.56%.

Commodities and Currency Movements

The risk-off tone was reflected in commodity and currency markets. In energy trading, Crude oil for August delivery fell 0.93% to $71.41 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract slipped 0.38% to trade at $76.01 a barrel.

The Russian ruble also weakened against major currencies. The USD/RUB pair rose 1.10% to 77.00, while the EUR/RUB gained 0.95% to 87.88, indicating pressure on the local currency.