Moscow Exchange expands trading session: starting September 14, investors will get an additional hour
The Moscow Exchange is preparing a significant update to its trading schedule, which will take effect on September 14, 2026. The main trading session will start an hour earlier — at 9:00 instead of the usual 10:00, extending its duration to ten hours. This decision will affect key market segments: the equity, derivatives, foreign exchange, and precious metals markets.
New schedule: what will change for participants
According to the new regulations, the morning session on the equity and derivatives markets will retain its current framework — from 6:50 to 9:00, with an opening auction in the first ten minutes. The main session will now run from 9:00 to 19:00. For securities not admitted to morning trading, the opening auction will also shift to 9:00–9:10. The evening session will remain unchanged — from 19:00 to 23:50. Weekends and holidays retain the current schedule: trades are executed from 9:50 to 19:00, with the first ten minutes allocated to the auction.
On the foreign exchange and precious metals markets, the main session will start at 8:50 and end at 19:00, with the opening auction running until 9:00. The money market will operate on a separate schedule: risk-free modes — from 10:00 to 19:00, evening session — from 19:00 to 23:50. The most significant shift is expected for negotiated repo transactions, deposits, and loans — their start moves from 9:30 to 8:30.
Rationale behind the decision and market context
The expansion of the trading window is not a technical formality, but a well-considered step driven by investor demand. The chairman of the exchange's management board, Viktor Zhidkov, emphasizes that the extra hour will allow participants to diversify trading strategies and increase liquidity, especially through institutional players who need to execute large orders during the main session. Particular emphasis is placed on clients from Siberia and the Far East, for whom the early start creates more comfortable trading conditions.
The bet on institutional investors looks justified: trading volumes in this segment remain high, and retail investors directed 142.9 billion rubles into securities in July, reaching a 63.3% share in equity trades. In parallel, the platform continues its modernization: it is implementing AI agents to search for vulnerabilities in software code and expanding its toolkit for bets on foreign assets. Since July 27, the exchange has been calculating fixings for 23 foreign securities, including Coinbase and Tesla shares, with plans to launch futures and options linked to them.
Expert comment: Extending the main session by an hour is a signal of the exchange's desire to enhance its competitiveness in the fight for liquidity. However, for retail investors, the extra hour is unlikely to be a decisive factor, while institutional players will gain a real advantage in managing large positions. In the long term, this could increase volatility in the first minutes of trading, which should be taken into account when building algorithmic strategies.