Record year: Moscow Exchange derivatives market turnover exceeded 1.7 trillion rubles over the weekend
The project to organize trading on the derivatives market of the Moscow Exchange on weekends marks its first anniversary with impressive results. Over 12 months of operation, the total turnover on Saturdays and Sundays exceeded the 1.7 trillion ruble mark. Notably, more than 215 thousand unique clients quickly took advantage of this opportunity, confirming high demand for flexible access to derivative instruments.
Let me remind you that trading on non-working days started on August 16, 2025. Since then, the share of trades falling on weekends has averaged 3.8% of the volume of the main weekly session. This is not just statistics, but a marker of changing investor behavior, as they increasingly seek to hedge risks or lock in profits regardless of the calendar.
Peak Loads and Popular Assets
An absolute record was set on February 28, 2026, when participants executed trades worth 82.6 billion rubles in a single day. This surge in activity coincided with a period of high volatility in global markets, which once again proves: investors need a tool for instant reaction to external shocks.
Since July 18, 2026, currency futures have also become available for weekend trading. In less than a month, turnover on these contracts during non-working days reached 34 billion rubles. The most popular among clients are futures on Brent crude oil, gold, and the MOEX Index. The top list also includes perpetual futures on the MOEX Index, contracts on natural gas, the RTS Index, QQQ ETF Trust units, as well as mini-contracts on the index and oil.
Expanding Horizons
The exchange's logic is obvious: to give participants the ability to react to events at any moment when the main session has already closed and foreign venues continue to operate. That is why the focus is on instruments tied to global assets — their dynamics do not depend on the Moscow schedule. Weekend trading runs from 09:50 to 19:00, with the first ten minutes allocated to the opening auction. Liquidity is supported by market makers, ensuring stable order execution.
The exchange is not resting on its laurels. From September 14, the main session will start an hour earlier — at 9:00, and its duration will increase to 10 hours. The changes will affect the stock, derivatives, currency markets, and the precious metals market. This is a logical continuation of the strategy to expand access, backed by growing retail activity: in July, private investors poured 142.9 billion rubles into securities, and their share in equity trades reached 63.3%.
My view: the success of weekend trading is not just numbers, but a signal of the structural evolution of the market. Investors are increasingly perceiving the exchange as a round-the-clock service rather than an institution tied to office hours. Further expansion of sessions is a matter of time, and those who adapt to this trend first will gain a competitive advantage.