The Central Bank of Russia’s latest Financial Market Risks Review reports that equities delivered the Russian market’s highest returns in October, with the MOEX Russia Index rising 10.7%. Higher global oil prices and expectations of positive geopolitical news for Russia supported the gains. Despite the rally, individuals sold more shares than they bought for the first time in a year, sharply increased ruble deposits and reduced purchases of corporate bonds denominated in rubles.
The ruble strengthened, bringing major foreign currencies’ exchange rates down to March 2026 levels. Federal government bond yields declined across maturities except one year, while corporate bond yield spreads over federal government bonds widened slightly.