Moscow Exchange derivatives market on weekends: one year of operation and a record 1.7 trillion rubles in turnover
In the first year of weekend trading on the Moscow Exchange derivatives market, total trading turnover exceeded 1.7 trillion rubles. More than 215,000 clients took advantage of the opportunity to trade futures and options on Saturdays and Sundays.
Weekend trading launched on August 16, 2025, and exactly one year later, the exchange reported its first significant results. On average over 12 months, the share of trades executed on Saturdays and Sundays accounted for 3.8% of the volume of the main trading session. This is not just an experiment, but a full-fledged channel for hedging risks and speculative activity.
A Year of Weekend Trading: Records and Favorites
The peak of activity came on February 28, 2026, when participants executed trades worth 82.6 billion rubles — an absolute record for the entire period of the additional weekend session. A particular surge in interest was observed after July 18, 2026, when currency futures became available on Saturdays and Sundays. In less than a month, turnover in currency derivatives on non-working days reached 34 billion rubles.
Among instruments, futures on Brent crude oil, gold, and the MOEX Index emerged as clear leaders. Perpetual futures on the MOEX Index, natural gas contracts, the RTS Index, QQQ ETF Trust units, as well as mini-contracts on the MOEX Index and Brent oil, also made it into the top popularity rankings. This demand structure is understandable: investors seek to hedge positions in global assets, reacting to events that occur while the Russian market is formally closed.
The main goal of expanding trading hours is to give participants the ability to respond to events at any time. Derivatives market instruments allow participation in price movements not only of Russian assets but also of popular global instruments, whose activity peaks occur at different times of the day.
Weekend trades take place from 09:50 to 19:00: the first ten minutes are allocated to the opening auction, followed by the trading period. Investors can work with all futures and calendar spreads, while options are available only in the negotiated mode, with liquidity supported by market makers.
Moscow Exchange Expands Access to Trading
The exchange is consistently increasing operating hours for investors. The launch of weekend trading became one of the steps in this direction, and the exchange subsequently continued to change schedules across several markets at once. 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 equity, derivatives, currency markets, and the precious metals market.
Demand for new opportunities is also confirmed by retail activity. In July, individual investors invested 142.9 billion rubles in securities, and their share of stock trades reached 63.3%. This indicates growing interest in the exchange's instruments and its commitment to meeting the demands of the modern trader.
My view: the launch of weekend trading is a strategically sound step that brings the Russian market closer to global standards. Record turnover and growing client numbers confirm that demand for continuous access to liquidity will only strengthen, especially amid high volatility on global venues.