Russian shares ended the trading day lower on Friday as sector-specific declines outweighed gains in select large-cap names. At the close in Moscow the MOEX Russia Index fell 0.22%, marking a new six-month low for the benchmark.
The session's top performers on the MOEX Russia Index included AFK Sistema PJSC (MCX:AFKS), which advanced 1.35% to finish at 13.28. Aeroflot PJSC (MCX:AFLT) rose 1.30% to close at 43.71, while Polyus PJSC (MCX:PLZL) gained 1.00% to end the session at 2,015.00.
On the downside, PIK SHb PJSC (MCX:PIKK) led declines after slipping 2.32% to 581.20 at the close. TATNEFT n.a. V.D. Shashin (MCX:TATN) lost 0.80%, finishing at 591.60, and TATNEFT n.a. V.D. Shashin Pref (MCX:TATN_p) was down 0.75% to 554.20.
Market breadth on the Moscow Stock Exchange showed 131 stocks advancing, 90 declining, and 18 unchanged, indicating more names rose than fell despite the headline index retreat.
The Russian Volatility Index - RVI, which tracks implied volatility for options on the MOEX Russia Index, declined 4.02% to 26.71 by the close.
Commodities moved unevenly during the session. Gold futures for August delivery climbed 3.06%, rising $125.75 to $4,239.75 a troy ounce. In contrast, crude oil weakened: July delivery crude fell 3.97% to $84.23 a barrel, while the August Brent contract slipped 4.03% to $86.74 a barrel.
Currency moves included a 0.49% rise in USD/RUB to 72.60 and a 0.27% increase in EUR/RUB to 83.87. The US Dollar Index Futures traded down 0.05% at 99.80.
Data points and price moves cited above reflect the closing values and percentage changes recorded in Moscow trading on the reporting day.