Russian equities closed lower on Saturday as losses in energy and industrial stocks outweighed modest gains elsewhere, while the MOEX Russia index remained flat.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by 171 to 52 on the Moscow Stock Exchange, with 15 stocks unchanged. The Russian Volatility Index held steady at 44.81, indicating limited intraday fluctuation.
Energy heavyweights led the declines. Rosneft fell 0.44% to 315.75, while Polyus dropped 0.27% to 1,168.60. Industrial group Novolipetsk Steel shed 2.73% to 69.84, and steelmaker NLMK lost 1.96 points to close at 69.84. AFK Sistema, a diversified conglomerate, slid 3.12% to 7.89, and e-commerce firm OZON fell 3.02% to 2,889.00.
Commodities showed mixed performance. December gold futures rose 1.97% to $4,661.60 per troy ounce, while October Brent crude advanced 0.16% to $93.93 a barrel. October WTI crude, however, fell 0.22% to $86.64.
The ruble weakened against the dollar, with USD/RUB up 0.16% to 83.88, while EUR/RUB declined 1.28% to 96.56. The U.S. Dollar Index futures were little changed, down 0.05% at 98.77.
