Russia's equity market closed with gains on Friday, driven by strength in energy, mining and manufacturing names. At the close in Moscow, the MOEX Russia Index added 0.97%.
The session's largest winners on the MOEX Russia Index included TATNEFT n.a. V.D. Shashin (MCX:TATN), which climbed 5.92% or 27.70 points to finish at 496.00. AFK Sistema PJSC (MCX:AFKS) rose 5.84% or 0.67 points to close at 12.05, and LUKOIL PJSC (MCX:LKOH) gained 5.72% or 236.50 points to end the day at 4,369.00.
On the other side of the tape, the weakest performers included Unipro PJSC (MCX:UPRO), down 2.69% or 0.03 points to 1.01 at the close. PIK SHb PJSC (MCX:PIKK) slipped 1.92% or 10.60 points to 541.20, while AK ALROSA PJSC (MCX:ALRS) fell 1.77% or 0.37 to 20.53.
Market breadth ended the session with more decliners than advancers on the Moscow Stock Exchange - 155 stocks fell versus 89 that rose, and 7 were unchanged.
Notable low prints were recorded for a pair of companies: shares of Unipro PJSC (MCX:UPRO) dropped to 5-year lows, falling 2.69% or 0.03 to 1.01, and AK ALROSA PJSC (MCX:ALRS) declined to all-time lows, down 1.77% or 0.37 to 20.53.
Volatility as measured by the Russian Volatility Index - RVI eased, with the index down 2.40% to 43.02.
Commodity price moves were mixed. Gold Futures for August delivery were higher by 1.37% or 55.40, trading at 4,103.00 per troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for August delivery fell 2.34% or 1.68 to 70.24 a barrel, while the September Brent contract dropped 2.62% or 1.98 to 73.52 a barrel.
Foreign exchange rates showed a stronger ruble on the crosses versus major currencies: USD/RUB was up 4.45% to 79.23, and EUR/RUB rose 4.14% to 89.81. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.05% at 101.14.
The session reflected sectoral divergence, with energy and mining names underpinning the index gain while some utilities and materials names underperformed. Volatility and commodity movements provided additional context to the price action.