Moscow Exchange to launch evening session for bond trading from 27th September

September 13, 2021 - Moscow Exchange has announced that from Monday 27 September 2021 the exchange will make available after-hours trading in bonds on MOEX. Investors will be able to trade federal government bonds (OFZ) and Eurobonds from 19:00 to 23:50 Moscow Time (MSK). As a result, the Bond Market will be open for trading for 13 hours and 40 minutes daily.

The launch of the evening session on the Bond Market is part of Moscow Exchange's strategy to make on-exchange trading more accessible, primarily to retail investors, who currently number almost 14 million on MOEX. Moscow Exchange offers Russian and international stocks, ETFs, currencies, precious metals, futures and options for trading during the evening session. The evening session accounts for 9% of trading volumes in equities, 19% of futures and options and 5% of FX.

Since March this year, the FX, Derivatives and Precious Metals Markets have opened for trading at 7am MSK. A morning session on the Equity Market will launch at the end of the year.

Gleb Shevelenkov, Director of the Bond Market Department at Moscow Exchange, said, "The evening session will be of interest primarily to retail investors, who are becoming increasingly active in the debt market: since the start of the year, around one million people have traded bonds. Bonds are the most accessible and low-risk product for new individual investors, for whom they represent an alternative to bank deposits. Extended trading hours will give these investors additional opportunities to learn about the market and make informed decisions. In addition, some significant debt market events occur in the evening, during US market hours, which will allow investors to capitalise on such events as they occur."

The volume in the evening session is 9% in share trading, 19% in the derivatives market, 5% in foreign exchange. Since March of this year, trading on the foreign exchange, derivatives and precious metals markets began at seven in the morning, and at the end of 2021 the morning session will become available to participants in the stock market.

Evening session liquidity will be supported by market makers including leading Russian brokerage firms.

Gleb Shevelenkov, Director of the Debt Market Department of the Moscow Exchange:

"The evening session will be of interest primarily to private investors, whose activity in the debt market is growing: since the beginning of the year, about 1 million people have concluded transactions with bonds. Bonds are the most understandable and least risky product for novice private investors who perceive the purchase of bonds as an alternative to bank deposits. Extension of the trading time will provide them with additional opportunities to study the market and make an informed decision in their free time. the moment of their coming. "

Vladimir Potapov, Chief Executive Officer of VTB Capital Investments, Head of the Brokerage Department, Senior Vice President of VTB Bank commented, "The launch of the evening session on the OFZ and Eurobond market will expand the possibilities of clients, since now they can carry out transactions at a convenient time for themselves. This is especially important given the growth of the retail investor market and the expanding geography of their presence. Moreover, the evening session when using mobile applications makes working with them more convenient, since the instruments are available in them for longer during the day. Also, the launch of the evening session on the OFZ and Eurobonds market is another step towards harmonising trading periods on the markets of the Moscow Exchange. "

Olga Shuster, Executive Director - Head of the Development and Sales Department of the investment and brokerage business of Sberbank also commented, “Interest in the stock market in Russia remains consistently high: for example, more than a million brokerage accounts have been opened in Sberbank since the beginning of the year.....At the same time, the extension of trading hours will allow professional participants to increase the volume of liquidity, as a result of which private investors will be able to make more profitable transactions."

Yuri Maslov, General Director of Otkritie Broker added, "The launch of the evening session on OFZ and Eurobonds is a logical and logical step towards harmonising the operation of all markets of the Moscow Exchange. It is certainly convenient for a retail investor to work with both stocks and bonds at the same time. In addition, some conservative investors are considering bonds as a direct analogue of deposits and invest in them mainly outside working hours. Plus, evening trading provides more comfortable trading conditions for non-residents."

OFZ, sub-federal, municipal, mortgage and corporate bonds, as well as sovereign and corporate Eurobonds are traded on the bond market of the Moscow Exchange . The share of private investors in the OFZ trading volume is 9%, in Eurobonds - 30%.

The Bond Market is currently open from 10:00 to 18:50 MSK.

The Moscow Exchange Bond Market offers OFZs, sub-federal, municipal, mortgage-backed, corporate as well as sovereign and corporate bonds. Retail investors account for 9% of OFZ, and 30% of Eurobonds trading volume.