At the close in Moscow, the MOEX Russia Index gained 0.34 per cent

Russia equities were higher at the close on Monday, as gains in the MOEX Telecommunication, MOEX Metals and Mining and MOEX Oil and Gas sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Moscow, the MOEX Russia Index gained 0.34 per cent.

The biggest gainers of the session on the MOEX Russia Index were VK Company Ltd, which added 2.35 per cent or 6.40 points to trade at 279.20 at the close. Novolipetsk Steel advanced 2.21 per cent or 2.34 points to end at 108.00 and NOVATEK PJSC was up 1.42 per cent or 16.60 points to 1,183.00 in late trade.

Biggest losers included Moskovskiy Kreditnyi Bank PAO, which shed 2.39 per cent or 0.20 points to trade at 8.00 in late trade. Magnit PJSC slipped 1.51 per cent or 44.50 points to close at 2,897.50 and TATNEFT n.a. V.D. Shashin down 1.18 per cent or 7.10 points to 595.40.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones by 138 to 92 and 20 ended unchanged on the Moscow Stock Exchange.

The Russian Volatility Index – RVI, which measures the implied volatility of MOEX Russia Index options, was down 5.14 per cent to 35.46.

Gold Futures for February delivery was up 0.42 per cent or 18.05 to $4,272.95 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January gained 1.57 per cent or 0.92 to hit $59.47 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract added 1.41 per cent or 0.88 to trade at $63.26 a barrel.

USD/RUB was up 0.30 per cent to 77.72, while EUR/RUB gained 0.41 per cent to 90.23.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.07 per cent at 99.34.