Stock Markets March 21, 2026

Moscow session ends flat as headline index posts no change; top names show no movement

MOEX Russia Index closes unchanged while select heavyweights and volatility gauge remain static

By Nina Shah
Moscow session ends flat as headline index posts no change; top names show no movement

Russian equities finished the Saturday session with the MOEX Russia Index unchanged at the close. Major listed names cited in trading updates - AFK Sistema, Aeroflot and ROSSETI - showed no price movement at the close. Market breadth and volatility readings reported no change, while commodity and FX prices shifted, with crude and Brent rising and gold slipping.

Key Points

  • MOEX Russia Index closed unchanged at 0.00%.
  • Top-listed names AFK Sistema (AFKS), Aeroflot (AFLT) and ROSSETI (FEES) were all reported unchanged at their quoted closing levels.
  • Volatility (RVI) was unchanged at 24.77; gold fell while crude and Brent rose; USD/RUB and EUR/RUB both declined.

Russian stock trading ended on Saturday with the main index recording no net change at the close. The MOEX Russia Index was unchanged, reflecting a session in which several large-cap names reported no movement in their closing quotations.

The session summary did not specify which sectors led or lagged; the available report omitted sector leadership details. At the close in Moscow the MOEX Russia Index registered a 0.00% change.

Among the headline contributors listed for the session, AFK Sistema PJSC (MCX:AFKS) closed unchanged, showing "0.00% or 0.00 points" to finish at 13.08. Aeroflot PJSC (MCX:AFLT) also closed unchanged, quoted as "0.00% or 0.00 points" to end at 50.08. ROSSETI PJSC (MCX:FEES) was likewise unchanged, recorded as "0.00% or 0.00 points" to 0.07 at the close.

The same three names appear in both the report's list of best performers and worst performers, each entry showing identical unchanged values. The data as provided lists AFK Sistema, Aeroflot and ROSSETI with the unchanged closing levels noted above in both contexts.

Market breadth figures in the summary were reported as "Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Moscow Stock Exchange by 0 to 0." Shares of Aeroflot were noted as unchanged to 52-week lows, with the same closing figure of 50.08 cited twice in the summary.

On the volatility front, the Russian Volatility Index - RVI, which measures implied volatility for MOEX Russia Index options, was reported unchanged at 24.77.

Commodities and FX moved during the session. Gold Futures for April delivery was down 0.67% or 30.80 to $4,574.90 a troy ounce. In oil markets, Crude oil for May delivery rose 2.27% or 2.18 to $98.32 a barrel, and the May Brent oil contract increased 3.26% or 3.54 to trade at $112.19 a barrel. On currency pairs, USD/RUB was reported down 3.51% to 83.13, while EUR/RUB fell 3.66% to 96.18.

The US Dollar Index Futures was recorded as up 0.40% at 99.46.


Key takeaways

  • MOEX Russia Index closed unchanged at the session end, with listed heavyweights AFKS, AFLT and FEES showing no price movement.
  • Market breadth metrics were reported as 0 to 0 for falling versus advancing issues; the volatility gauge RVI remained unchanged at 24.77.
  • Commodities and FX diverged from equities: gold fell while crude and Brent rose; both USD/RUB and EUR/RUB declined.

Risks and uncertainties

  • Incomplete sector information - the report did not specify which sectors led the session, leaving sector-level drivers unclear; this affects analysis of sector impact.
  • Ambiguous breadth figures - the cited 0 to 0 falling versus advancing stocks figure is anomalous and limits interpretation of market internals.
  • Concentration of unchanged readings among headline names - with major quoted stocks reported unchanged, it is difficult to assess intra-day price dynamics for large-cap exposures.

Risks

  • Sector leadership was not specified in the report, limiting insight into which economic sectors were driving the session (affects sector analysis).
  • The market breadth figure of 0 to 0 for falling versus advancing stocks is ambiguous and constrains assessment of market internals (affects equity market interpretation).
  • Key large-cap names showed no price movement in the report, restricting evaluation of intra-session volatility and liquidity impacts for investors with exposure to these issuers.

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