Russia's equity benchmark finished the trading day in Moscow under pressure, with the MOEX Russia Index falling 0.60% at the close on Friday. The session's decline was driven by weakness in several sector groups, specifically Oil & Gas, Power and Mining, which together weighed on overall market performance.
Market breadth favored the downside: 156 issues lost ground on the Moscow Stock Exchange, 85 gained and 10 finished unchanged. Among individual stocks, Moskovskiy Kreditnyi Bank PAO (MCX:CBOM) posted the largest percentage gain on the benchmark, rising 4.72% or 0.35 points to finish at 7.82. Aeroflot PJSC (MCX:AFLT) added 2.19% or 1.07 points to close at 49.86, while T Tekhnologii MKPAO (MCX:T) climbed 2.03% or 6.50 points to 326.10 in late trade.
Notable declines were concentrated in high-profile hydrocarbon names. Rosneft PJSC (MCX:ROSN) was the worst performer on the session, slipping 4.25% or 19.00 points to end at 427.90. TATNEFT n.a. V.D. Shashin (MCX:TATN) fell 3.81% or 22.50 points to 567.50, while TATNEFT n.a. V.D. Shashin Pref (MCX:TATN_p) lost 2.62% or 14.40 points to 535.20.
Separately, shares in T Tekhnologii MKPAO (MCX:T) were described as rising to all time lows during the session, despite the 2.03% gain that took the stock to 326.10 at the close.
Volatility on the MOEX options market eased slightly. The Russian Volatility Index - RVI, which gauges implied volatility for MOEX Russia Index options, dropped 0.44% to 20.45.
Commodities and currency moves accompanied equity trading. Gold futures for June delivery rose 0.85% or 41.10 to $4,849.40 a troy ounce. Crude oil for May delivery declined 9.63% or 9.12 to $85.57 a barrel, and the June Brent oil contract fell 7.87% or 7.82 to trade at $91.57 a barrel. In foreign exchange markets, USD/RUB weakened 0.46% to 76.00, while EUR/RUB declined 0.56% to 89.44. The US Dollar Index Futures was essentially flat, up 0.01% at 98.04.
Summary of the session: Moscow equities closed lower, pulled down by energy and mining names; breadth favored losers; volatility eased; commodities showed mixed direction with oil notably weaker while gold gained; the ruble strengthened slightly versus major currencies.