Russian Stocks Close Lower; MOEX Russia Index Down 0.40%

Russian equities ended Wednesday's session in negative territory, dragged down by weakness in the Power, Mining, and Oil & Gas sectors.

At the closing bell in Moscow, the MOEX Russia Index was down 0.40%.

Leading the session's gainers on the MOEX Russia Index, Moskovskiy Kreditnyi Bank PAO (MCX:CBOM) climbed 3.47%, adding 0.34 points to close at 10.14. Mobil’nye Telesistemy PJSC (MCX:MTSS) rose 0.66% (1.25 points) to end at 189.95, while Federal Hydro Generating Company RusHydro PJSC (MCX:HYDR) finished at 0.38, up 0.64%, with the point change rounding to 0.00.

The session's worst performers included AK ALROSA PJSC (MCX:ALRS), which slid 3.64% (0.78 points) to close at 20.63. NOVATEK PJSC (MCX:NVTK) dropped 2.64% (26.60 points) to finish at 979.10, while Transneft PJSC Pref (MCX:TRNF_p) declined 2.64% (28.00 points) to 1,017.00.

On the Moscow Stock Exchange, decliners outpaced advancers 190 to 55, with 10 unchanged.

The Russian Volatility Index (RVI), which gauges implied volatility of MOEX Russia Index options, slipped 1.74% to 36.69.

In commodities trading, December gold futures increased 0.19% (or $8.25) to $4,447.25 per troy ounce. October crude oil futures climbed 3.91% ($3.64) to $96.67 per barrel, while November Brent advanced 0.01% ($0.01) to $101.67 per barrel.

USD/RUB was unchanged at 85.48, while EUR/RUB also remained flat at 98.95.

The US Dollar Index futures contract settled unchanged at 98.78.