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Stock Markets February 17, 2026 04:25 PM

MOEX Russia Index Closes Lower as Mining, Oil & Gas and Power Stocks Slip

Broad losses push benchmark down 0.59% with mixed moves across individual large-cap names and commodity-linked assets

By Caleb Monroe UPRO
MOEX Russia Index Closes Lower as Mining, Oil & Gas and Power Stocks Slip
UPRO

Russian equities finished lower at Tuesday's close, with the MOEX Russia Index slipping 0.59%. Gains in select names including PhosAgro, Unipro and Bank VTB were outweighed by declines among aluminum, gold and oil producers. Market breadth favored decliners, and volatility, commodities and FX showed notable moves during the session.

Key Points

  • MOEX Russia Index closed down 0.59% at the Moscow session's end.
  • PhosAgro, Unipro and Bank VTB were notable gainers, while Rusal, Polyus and Surgutneftegas Prefs were the largest decliners.
  • Market breadth favored decliners (145 down, 94 up, 13 unchanged); RVI rose to 26.53 and key commodities and FX rates moved lower.

Russian stocks ended Tuesday's trading session in negative territory as losses concentrated in the Mining, Oil & Gas and Power sectors pulled the main index down.

At the close in Moscow, the MOEX Russia Index was down 0.59%.

Top performers

  • PhosAgro PJSC (MCX:PHOR) led the gains on the benchmark, rising 2.22% - a move of 141.00 points - to close at 6,481.00.
  • Unipro PJSC (MCX:UPRO) added 1.99%, up 0.03 points to finish at 1.64.
  • Bank VTB PJSC (MCX:VTBR) recovered 1.84%, an increase of 1.62 points to end the session at 89.41.

Largest decliners

  • OK Rusal MKPAO (MCX:RUAL) was the weakest large-cap, down 2.44% or 0.95 points to 38.24 at the close.
  • Polyus PJSC (MCX:PLZL) fell 2.04%, a decline of 50.40 points, to close at 2,418.60.
  • Surgutneftegas PJSC Pref (MCX:SNGS_p) dropped 1.40% or 0.60 points to end the day at 42.29.

Market breadth on the Moscow Stock Exchange showed more falling issues than advancing ones: 145 stocks declined compared with 94 stocks that rose, and 13 finished unchanged.

The Russian Volatility Index - RVI, which tracks implied volatility of options on the MOEX Russia Index, increased 0.38% to reach 26.53.

Commodities and energy

Precious and energy commodity benchmarks moved lower across the session. Gold futures for April delivery fell 2.94% - down 148.21 - to $4,898.09 a troy ounce. In the oil complex, the April contract for crude oil slipped 0.96% or 0.60 to $62.15 a barrel, while the April Brent contract lost 1.94% or 1.33 to trade at $67.32 a barrel.

Currencies and dollar index

On foreign exchange boards, USD/RUB declined 0.52% to 76.35, while EUR/RUB fell 0.51% to 90.47. The US Dollar Index Futures moved higher by 0.23% to 97.04.

This session’s trading displayed a divergence between a handful of rising individual names and broader sector weakness tied to mining, oil and power exposures. Volatility edged up modestly while commodity prices and the ruble experienced downward pressure during the day.

Risks

  • Sector concentration of losses in Mining, Oil & Gas and Power may increase pressure on stocks tied to commodity prices - this affects energy and materials sectors.
  • Rising implied volatility as measured by the RVI suggests growing uncertainty in options markets tied to the MOEX Russia Index - this impacts equity derivatives participants.
  • Weakness in commodity prices during the session - including gold and crude benchmarks - could weigh on profit drivers for resource-heavy companies.

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