Russian equities closed lower on Thursday, driven by sectoral weakness in Mining, Oil & Gas and Power, with the MOEX Russia Index finishing the session down 0.86%.
At the close in Moscow, the benchmark index reflected broad selling pressure. Falling issues outnumbered rising ones on the Moscow Stock Exchange by 167 to 72, while 12 stocks ended unchanged.
Among individual movers, the day's strongest performers included GMK Noril'skiy Nikel' PAO (GMKN), which advanced 1.83% - a gain of 2.40 points - to finish at 133.40. AK ALROSA PJSC (ALRS) added 1.68%, up 0.42 points to 25.38, and Unipro PJSC (UPRO) rose 1.40%, or 0.02 points, to close at 1.27.
On the other side of the ledger, OZON (OZON) was the session's weakest name, declining 2.90% - a drop of 116.00 points - to end at 3,888.00. AFK Sistema PJSC (AFKS) fell 2.80%, down 0.35 points to 12.20, while VK Company Ltd (VKCO) lost 2.54% or 6.10 points to close at 234.00.
Market uncertainty nudged higher intraday: the Russian Volatility Index - RVI, which gauges implied volatility in MOEX Russia Index options, increased 4.37% to 25.57.
Commodities showed mixed moves during the session. Gold futures for August delivery rose 0.79%, gaining 35.35 to trade at 4,502.25 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for July delivery fell 3.24%, down 3.11 to $92.91 a barrel, while the August Brent contract inched up 0.08% to $95.22 a barrel.
Currency pairs cited for the session were stable: USD/RUB was unchanged at 73.40, and EUR/RUB remained unchanged at 85.22.
Elsewhere, the US Dollar Index futures was reported down 0.08% at 99.43.
Contextual summary
The session closed with a clear skew toward decliners and a notable rise in implied volatility for the benchmark's options. Sector-level declines in Mining, Oil & Gas and Power were the primary contributors to the MOEX index's pullback, while select large-cap names bucked the trend and posted gains.