Russia's stock market finished higher after trading on Friday, driven by strength in the Oil & Gas, Telecoms and Manufacturing sectors. At the close in Moscow the MOEX Russia Index was up 0.24%.
The top performers within the MOEX Russia Index included Bank VTB PJSC (MCX:VTBR), which climbed 3.94% or 3.37 points to finish at 88.88. NOVATEK PJSC (MCX:NVTK) gained 2.42% or 28.30 points to end at 1,196.20, and Mobil’nye Telesistemy PJSC (MCX:MTSS) rose 1.01% or 2.35 points to close at 235.10.
At the lower end of the index, Unipro PJSC (MCX:UPRO) was the weakest name, slipping 1.29% or 0.02 points to 1.61 at the close. OZON (MCX:OZON) declined 0.43% or 20.50 points to finish at 4,797.50, while PIK SHb PJSC (MCX:PIKK) was down 0.41% or 1.90 points to 462.70.
Market breadth on the Moscow Stock Exchange showed more declining issues than advancing ones, with 121 stocks falling versus 109 gaining. Another 22 names ended the session unchanged.
The Russian Volatility Index - RVI, which measures the implied volatility of MOEX Russia Index options, retreated 0.12% to 24.96 by the close.
Commodities featured mixed moves. Gold futures for April delivery were higher, rising 2.39% or 119.29 to $5,116.69 a troy ounce. By contrast, crude oil for April delivery fell 0.09% or 0.06 to $66.34 a barrel, and the April Brent oil contract slipped 0.04% or 0.03 to trade at $71.63 a barrel.
In currency trading, the USD/RUB rate was down 0.03% at 76.73, while EUR/RUB moved up 0.14% to 90.47. The US Dollar Index Futures eased 0.21% to 97.65.
The session reflected modest sector-led support for the index, with Oil & Gas, Telecoms and Manufacturing providing upward momentum while select utilities, e-commerce and property names underperformed. The slight fall in the RVI indicates a small reduction in implied option volatility versus the prior level.