Russian equities ended the trading session lower on Thursday, dragged down by broad-based weakness across the Oil & Gas, Mining and Power sectors. At the close in Moscow the MOEX Russia Index fell 3.63%.
Among companies on the MOEX, the strongest performer of the day was PIK SHb PJSC (MCX:PIKK), which advanced 1.99% - adding 10.60 points to finish at 544.00. GDR ROS AGRO PLC ORD SHS (MCX:AGRODR) was unchanged, finishing at 1,083.80, and Transneft PJSC Pref (MCX:TRNF_p) declined 1.20% or 16.00 points to end the session at 1,286.00.
Losses were concentrated among several large industrial and technology-related names. Magnitogorskiy Metallurgicheskiy Kombinat PAO (MCX:MAGN) was the weakest performer, slipping 6.35% - down 1.20 to close at 17.68. Novolipetsk Steel (MCX:NLMK) dropped 6.34% or 4.00 points to finish at 59.14, while VK Company Ltd (MCX:VKCO) declined 6.08% or 11.30 points to close at 174.70.
Market breadth was heavily negative: 224 issues fell on the Moscow Stock Exchange, 20 advanced and 7 finished unchanged.
Several names reached notable low points during the session. Shares of Magnitogorskiy Metallurgicheskiy Kombinat fell to 5-year lows, closing at 17.68 after the 6.35% drop. Novolipetsk Steel also traded at 5-year lows following its 6.34% decline to 59.14. VK Company Ltd fell to all-time lows, closing at 174.70 after losing 6.08%. GDR ROS AGRO PLC ORD SHS remained unchanged at 1,083.80, a 52-week low.
Volatility on MOEX options ticked higher: the Russian Volatility Index - RVI rose 3.82% to 38.56, indicating an uptick in implied option volatility for the benchmark index.
Commodities showed mixed moves. Gold futures for August delivery increased 1.30% - up 53.25 to $4,135.65 a troy ounce. In crude markets, the August WTI contract fell 0.17% or $0.12 to $68.46 a barrel, while the September Brent contract inched up 0.01% or $0.01 to trade at $71.59 a barrel.
Major ruble currency pairs were stable at the close: USD/RUB was unchanged at 77.55 and EUR/RUB held steady at 88.61. The US Dollar Index Futures declined 0.50% to 100.65.
Taken together, the session reflected concentrated selling pressure in mining and metals-related names and select technology and consumer-facing stocks, with broader market volatility rising modestly and commodity prices moving unevenly.