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Moscow Exchange
Moscow Exchange
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The Moscow Exchange (MOEX; Russian: Московская биржа, romanizedMoskovskaya birzha, IPA: [mɐˈskofskəjə ˈbʲirʐə]) is the largest exchange in Russia, operating trading markets in equities, bonds, derivatives, the foreign exchange market, money markets, and precious metals. The Moscow Exchange also operates Russia's central securities depository, the National Settlement Depository (NSD), and the country's largest clearing service provider, the National Clearing Centre.[3] The exchange was formed in 2011 in a merger of the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange and the Russian Trading System.

Key Information

At the end of 2023, the total trading volume on MOEX platforms reached 1.3 quadrillion rubles (about $14 trillion).[4][5]

History

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The Moscow Exchange was established on 19 December 2011 by merging the two largest Moscow-based exchanges, the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) and the Russian Trading System (RTS), hence the name "Moscow Exchange MICEX-RTS".[6] Both organisations had been formed in the 1990s and were leading Russian exchanges for two decades with their MICEX Index and the RTS Index. The merger created a single entity[6] to support Russia's plans to turn Moscow into an international financial centre.[7]

The exchange completed an initial public offering on 15 February 2013, raising 15 billion (approximately US$500 million).[8] The offering, at the time the largest ever held exclusively in Moscow, was more than twice oversubscribed and drew demand from institutional investors globally. The exchange's shares were included in the MSCI Russia Index in November 2013.[9] In July 2014 the Central Bank of Russia, the largest shareholder of the exchange, completed the public sale of shares representing nearly 12% of the exchange.[10] A Russian federal law requires[needs update] the Central Bank to fully sell its stake in the exchange by 1 January 2016.[11] In October 2018, Moscow Exchange launched the trading of deliverable gold futures on its Derivatives Market.[12] Gold are delivered through precious metals market spot section.[12]

On 24 February 2022, following the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Moscow Exchange suspended trading until further notice.[13] On 27 February, TASS reported that foreign clients were banned from selling any securities, effective immediately.[14][15]

On 4 March, the exchange was suspended from the World Federation of Exchanges.[16][17]

On 18 March it was announced that trading in OFZ bonds should be resumed on 21 March.[18] On 23 March, it was announced that trading of 33 ruble securities would resume on 24 March for residents of Russia, but that foreign investors were being restricted to repo deals and deals with derivative instruments. It was also announced that the act of short selling would be banned.[19] On 26 March, it was announced that limited trading would be expanded to all stocks in a shortened four-hour session on 28 March.[20] In August 2022, the bourse still hadn't fully returned to normal operations.[21] It remains unclear if, and if so when, normal operations did or will resume.[needs update]

The exchange was also targeted as part of international sanctions against Russia.[22] On May 5, the United Kingdom revoked the exchange's status as a UK "recognized stock exchange", thereby depriving securities traded on the exchange of certain UK tax reliefs.[23]

Management

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The Executive Board consists of five members:

  • Yury Denisov,[24] CEO since 2019 and a past supervisory board member[25]
  • Andrey Selyuk, chief financial officer since 2022[26]
  • Andrey Burilov, chief information officer since 2020,[27]
  • Igor Marich, Managing Director of Sales & Business Development and a 20-year veteran of Moscow Exchange,[28]
  • Dmitry Shcheglov, chief operating officer, a veteran of Moscow Exchange and its predecessor MICEX.

For 2020-2021 the board consisted of the following members:[29]

Shareholders

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Moscow Exchange's shares are publicly traded under the ticker MOEX. As of December 2021 approximately 63% of shares were in the free float, while the following held blocks of shares: Central Bank of Russia (11.75%),[36] Sberbank (9.9%), Vnesheconombank (8.4%), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (6.1%) and US asset management firm Capital Research and Management Company,[37] which manages more than $1.3 trillion globally in retirement assets.[38] In total, US investors owned 36.8% of the shares of Moscow Exchange, and UK investors owned 10.1%.[37] Additionally, 360,000 Russian retail investors owned MOEX shares.[39]

Trading markets

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Equity & Bond Market

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The Equity & Bond Market is a key platform for Russian businesses to raise capital and for domestic and international investors to access equity and debt investment opportunities. It is the main trading venue for Russian stocks as well as government, municipal, and corporate bonds. In 2013–2014, 16 companies placed stock via Moscow Exchange, raising a total of approximately RUB 200 bln. On the fixed income side, more than 400 bond issues were placed, raising more than RUB 3.4 trillion for issuers.

Moscow Exchange includes shares of many of Russia's largest companies, including Gazprom, Sberbank, Rosneft, Lukoil and VTB.[40]

Global investment banks began to provide their clients with DMA to the Russian market in 2013.[41] As a result of regulatory changes, the international central securities depositories Euroclear Bank and Clearstream Banking SA offered clearance and settlement services for Russian stocks and bonds.[42]

In addition, Moscow Exchange focused on further developing the domestic investor base. The number of individuals with brokerage accounts on Moscow Exchange reached 17 million as of January 2022, which represented 11% of Russia's population.[43]

Foreign Exchange and money market

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The Bank of Russia uses the Exchange's infrastructure to implement monetary policy and provide liquidity to the market through repo transactions and FX swap transactions. For its domestic and international clients, including banks and corporates, Moscow Exchange offers products to manage liquidity and FX exposure. It is the centre of pricing for RUB and offers many RUB currency pairs, with tight spreads based on a transparent order book.[44]

All transactions (spot and swap) on the FX market are centrally cleared by National Clearing Centre. In September 2014, average daily trading volume across all currency pairs was US$22.4 bln.[45]

While RUB/USD and RUB/EUR were the most traded currency pairs in 2014, Moscow Exchange also promoted trading in other currencies. In particular the RUB/CNY pair was well received by the market[46] and trading in the GBP and HKD were launched in late 2014.[47]

Derivatives market

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Moscow Exchange as of 2014 was one of the 10 largest exchange platforms for derivatives trading globally.[48] The Derivatives Market facilitates trading of options contracts on, as well as futures contracts on indices, shares of both Russian and foreign companies, currency pairs, precious metals, energy and agricultural products.[49]

Futures on the RTS Index ranked sixth among the world's most actively traded derivatives on stock market indices according to data from the Futures Industry Association as of June 2014. Futures contracts on the U.S. dollar-Russian ruble were ranked first on 2014 in global liquidity, according to the Futures Industry Association.[50]

As of October 2014, 58 types of futures and 18 types of options were traded on the Exchange.[51]

Commodities markets

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Precious metals trading

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Moscow Exchange introduced spot trading in gold and silver in 2013. It has postponed a launch of trade in platinum and palladium by end of October or early November 2014 in order to do additional testing of the trading and clearing system.[52]

Grain trading

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National Mercantile Exchange is Russia's platform for spot grain trading, as well as in deliverable futures on agricultural products. Since 2002, National Mercantile Exchange has been the platform by which the Russian state executes interventions in the grain market.[53]

Post-trade services, subsidiaries National Settlement Depository and National Clearing Centre

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Moscow Exchange subsidiary National Settlement Depository (NSD) was granted status as Russia's Central Securities Depository in 2012. Subsequently, Euroclear Bank and Clearstream Banking SA opened accounts with the NSD, allowing international investors access to Russian bonds and equities, and giving Russian issuers access to non-Russian investors.[54]

In the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, NSD blocked and froze all securities held in Euroclear's account at NSD, on March 1, 2022.[55] NSD also froze payments on securities of Russian issuers from being made to non-Russian individuals and entities.[37] On March 18, 2022, NSD's accounts at Euroclear and Clearstream (which together held €50tn of assets on behalf of investors) were blocked and frozen.[56][57] In March 2022, the European Central Securities Depositories Association (ECSDA) suspended NSD from membership in the association.[58][57] In addition, the European Union added NSD to its extended sanctions list, blocking NSD's accounts in euros and in Euroclear and Clearstream and making it impossible to service forex-denominated bonds issued by Russia and Russian companies, and the NSD suspended transactions in euros.[59]

Another Moscow Exchange subsidiary, National Clearing Centre (NCC), is Russia's largest clearing center and is the Central Counterparty (CCP) across all Moscow Exchange markets.[citation needed] In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Association of CCP Clearing Houses (EACH) suspended National Clearing Centre from EACH membership.[57]

See also

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References

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia
from Grokipedia
The Moscow Exchange (MOEX) is 's primary multi-asset exchange, operating the country's leading platforms for trading equities, bonds, derivatives, foreign currencies, instruments, and precious metals, while also providing clearing, settlement, and depository services. Established in December 2011 through the merger of the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX), founded in 1992, and the RTS Stock Exchange, MOEX has grown to become the largest exchange in , the CIS, and by trading volume across major . It calculates key benchmarks such as the , a capitalization-weighted composite tracking the most liquid Russian stocks, which serves as a primary gauge of the domestic equity market. MOEX's operations encompass across diverse markets, with a focus on high and , capturing the full from listing to settlement for participants including domestic and select international investors. The exchange has demonstrated resilience amid geopolitical pressures, including Western sanctions imposed since 2014 and escalated in 2022, which have induced volatility in indices like the —evident in a 3.6% drop to 2,546 in October 2025 following U.S. measures targeting energy firms—but have not halted core functions, with trading resuming in key segments and retail participation surging to over 3.6 million clients monthly by mid-2025. Empirical analyses indicate sanctions have disrupted price dynamics and firm performance in non-energy sectors through channels, yet MOEX reported solid financial results, including RUB 15.1 billion profit in Q2 2025, driven by growth and expanded domestic activity. This adaptability underscores MOEX's role as a of Russia's financial infrastructure, facilitating and hedging despite external constraints.

History

Pre-Merger Foundations

The Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) emerged amid the perestroika-era reforms of the late Soviet period, which introduced limited market mechanisms to address . Initial currency auctions began in November 1989, organized by the USSR's Foreign Trade and Investment Bank to facilitate controlled transactions outside the . These auctions marked an early shift from centralized allocation to rudimentary market pricing for hard currencies, driven by the need to support imports amid declining oil revenues and growing . Formal incorporation of MICEX as a occurred on May 18, 1992, establishing it as Russia's primary interbank forex market with 140 founding members, primarily banks, focused on ruble-denominated trades against foreign currencies. Parallel to MICEX's development, the Russian Trading System (RTS) was founded in 1995 to organize equity trading, consolidating fragmented regional over-the-counter (OTC) networks into a centralized electronic platform. Launched on July 10, 1995, RTS introduced real-time, screen-based trading via its Classica system, enabling continuous matching of buy and sell orders for shares in privatized enterprises. This innovation addressed the opacity and inefficiency of prior informal dealer markets, where trades relied on telephone negotiations and lacked standardized pricing or clearing. By September 1, 1995, RTS debuted its flagship RTS Index, a dollar-denominated benchmark tracking 50 leading stocks, providing investors with a verifiable measure of market amid post-privatization volatility. These nascent platforms faced severe tests from macroeconomic turbulence, including peaking at over 2,500% annually in 1992, which eroded value and deterred by rendering nominal gains illusory. The 1998 financial crisis exacerbated vulnerabilities, with Russia's default on domestic debt, a 70% , and widespread failures halting trading and exposing weak infrastructure like inadequate settlement systems and regulatory oversight. MICEX's forex focus aided initial stabilization efforts by channeling interbank and establishing reference rates, transitioning ad hoc OTC dealings toward organized auctions that improved transparency and reduced counterparty risks. RTS, meanwhile, weathered equity market collapses but demonstrated resilience through electronic safeguards, laying groundwork for formalized rules over bilateral bargains.

Formation and Early Development

The was established on , 2011, through the merger of the Interbank Exchange (MICEX), founded in 1992 as Russia's primary currency trading venue, and the Russian Trading System (RTS), established in 1995 for equity and derivatives trading. This consolidation created MICEX-RTS, initially valued at approximately $4.5 billion, with the aim of centralizing trading operations to enhance market efficiency by reducing fragmentation and improving liquidity through a single platform for equities, bonds, currencies, and derivatives. The merger aligned with government efforts to strengthen 's role as a regional financial hub, combining MICEX's dominance in fixed-income and markets with RTS's expertise in derivatives. Following the merger, the exchange pursued operational unification, from MICEX-RTS to Moscow Exchange in 2012 to simplify its identity and reflect the integrated structure. By , it launched unified trading sessions and platforms, including the completion of an on its own system in February, which raised $500 million and marked the full migration to centralized clearing and settlement via the National Settlement Depository. This integration streamlined cross-asset trading, enabling seamless execution across markets and reducing operational silos that had previously divided liquidity. Post-merger consolidation drove measurable growth in trading activity, with total volumes across all markets rising 24% year-over-year to RUB 369.7 trillion in 2012 and an additional 22% to RUB 449.4 trillion in 2013, reflecting enhanced participant access and reduced transaction costs from centralized efficiency. Daily turnovers benefited from this unification, as fragmented pre-merger trading gave way to concentrated order books, boosting overall without relying on external liquidity injections. Regulatory efforts during this period included aligning operations under the Federal Financial Markets Service (FFMS), with oversight transferring to the in September 2013, which centralized supervision and imposed stricter risk management standards to support the exchange's stability.

Expansion Phase

During the period from 2015 to , the Moscow Exchange underwent significant expansion, characterized by surging trading volumes driven by retail participation and institutional activity, alongside enhancements in market infrastructure and product diversity. Total trading volumes across , including equities and money markets, approached record highs in , with the equities segment reflecting broader market maturation through increased and turnover. This growth was underpinned by a retail boom, with individual accounts multiplying and contributing to elevated equity trading activity. The equities reached RUB 62.82 trillion (USD 841.85 billion) by December 31, 2021, approaching equivalent levels to major peers and signaling peak pre-disruption scale. Concurrently, the exchange expanded its offerings with the introduction of Russian-law exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in 2018, which by 2020 had attracted over half a million domestic investors and broadened access to diversified . support, bolstered by initiatives from the early onward, facilitated deeper , with HFT accounting for 35-57% of trades by the late . Technological advancements, including refined settlement processes aligned with T+2 cycles established earlier, enabled handling of elevated volumes without systemic disruptions. Cross-border access was enhanced through listings of global depositary receipts (GDRs) for Russian issuers, allowing seamless trading of international instruments and attracting foreign capital, which by mid-2021 comprised over 80% of free-float shares in listed companies. These developments collectively positioned the exchange as a maturing hub for multi-asset trading, with annual fee and commission revenues reflecting sustained operational scale.

Post-2022 Geopolitical Adaptations

Following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) suspended trading across its equity and bond markets on February 28, 2022, in response to heightened volatility and capital outflows, with a gradual resumption starting for Russian government bonds and select liquid shares, expanding to broader equities by March 24. This halt, the longest in MOEX history, lasted over three weeks for most segments and was accompanied by restrictions barring non-residents from selling securities effective February 27, effectively curtailing foreign investor participation and reducing average daily trading volumes in shares to RUB 645 million. Trading in foreign securities faced additional pressures amid SWIFT exclusions for Russian banks and secondary sanctions, leading to suspensions and subsequent delistings of non-resident issuers unable to maintain compliance or ; for instance, specific foreign securities like HollyFrontier Corporation ordinary shares were removed from MOEX Level 3 listing on , , due to upstream delistings on their primary exchanges. Overall, non-resident access to equity and bond markets ceased, prompting a moratorium from the Bank of until January 1, 2023, on delisting shares of foreign issuers to stabilize listings, though many such instruments saw effective withdrawal as trading volumes in foreign-linked assets plummeted 41.3% year-over-year to RUB 17.6 trillion. To mitigate sanction-induced disruptions in cross-border payments, MOEX pivoted toward ruble-denominated settlements for domestic and select international trades, while expanding Chinese yuan (CNY) trading pairs; CNY/RUB volumes surged 128-fold in 2022, with the yuan's share in MOEX forex turnover rising from 3% pre-crisis levels to dominate post-2022 activity, reaching 54% by May 2024 amid increased with . This adaptation included launching yuan-denominated bond trading, with 25 such instruments from 13 issuers outstanding by end-2023 valued at approximately RUB 0.9 , reflecting a broader de-dollarization evidenced by tripled yuan trading volumes to RUB 34.15 in the following year. By early 2025, MOEX had adapted further by resuming and expanding pre-market sessions alongside additional weekend trading, including futures market sessions starting August 9, 2025, and working Saturdays like November 1, to accommodate shifted investor patterns and boost in adapted volumes as reported in annual disclosures. In September 2025, equity trading hours were extended to 17 hours daily (6:50 to 23:50 MSK) from late in the month, unifying opening times with bond markets to streamline operations and enhance accessibility amid ongoing geopolitical constraints.

Governance and Ownership

Management and Leadership

Yury Denisov has served as Chairman of the Executive Board (CEO equivalent) of Moscow Exchange since April 27, 2020, following his appointment to lead strategic growth initiatives after Alexander Afanasiev's departure. Denisov was re-elected to the role on October 27, 2021, for a term extending through 2025, bringing prior experience from senior positions in Russian banking, including at , where he focused on operational efficiency and market expansion. Under his leadership, the exchange emphasized technological upgrades and risk-resilient infrastructure, including enhancements to trading platforms amid volatile geopolitical conditions. The Supervisory Board, responsible for high-level oversight, has been chaired by Sergey Shvetsov since June 7, 2022; Shvetsov, a former First Deputy Chairman of the , contributes regulatory and expertise to board deliberations. Other key members include Aleksandr Izosimov, with a background in international corporate leadership from roles like CEO of VimpelCom, providing insights into cross-border finance, and Valery Goreglyad, offering deep knowledge of domestic banking operations. The board's composition blends financial sector veterans and tech-oriented executives, supporting decisions on strategic adaptations such as platform digitization and contingency planning for market disruptions. In response to Western sanctions intensified after February 2022, Denisov and the Executive Board pivoted toward domestic-centric operations, suspending trading in U.S. dollars and euros on , 2022, to mitigate liquidity risks and comply with capital controls, while accelerating development of ruble-denominated and yuan-based instruments. By , this included expanding yuan clearing volumes and fostering alternative settlement mechanisms to sustain trading volumes, which reportedly stabilized at elevated levels through reliance on non-sanctioned currencies and commodities segments. Earlier, under Afanasiev's tenure from the MICEX-RTS merger until 2019, leadership integrated legacy systems into a unified platform, achieving consolidated trading volumes exceeding 50 trillion rubles annually by mid-decade and establishing centralized clearing protocols. The Board's and Committees guide decision-making on operational resilience, approving annual frameworks and conducting audits aligned with CPMI-IOSCO principles for infrastructures. These bodies evaluate threats like currency volatility and defaults, informing executive actions such as stress-testing protocols implemented post-2022 to ensure solvency amid sanction-induced asset freezes. Such processes prioritize empirical scenario modeling over speculative adjustments, maintaining exchange stability without external dependencies.

Shareholders and Ownership Structure

As of December 31, 2024, the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) maintains a dispersed structure with no controlling , characterized by a free float of 64% and a total of 532,564 registered shareholders. The consists of 2,276,401,458 ordinary shares, with no preferred shares or instruments granting disproportionate control. Disclosure of detailed data has been limited since October 2024 to mitigate risks from , though the company reports no shareholders holding stakes exceeding 5% beyond those previously disclosed. The Bank of holds a minor stake as both and primary regulator, exerting indirect influence through oversight rather than dominance, following its of an 11% position in July 2014 to broaden the investor base. The ownership evolved from the 2012 (IPO), which raised approximately $500 million at an offering price of 55 rubles per share, establishing a significant and valuing the exchange at around $4.6 billion. Pre-2022, foreign investors—particularly from the (up to 36.8%) and (around 10%)—held substantial portions, reflecting integration with global markets. Post-2022 sanctions prompted divestments and trading suspensions on Western exchanges, yet domestic retail participation grew, with over 360,000 Russian individual investors by early 2022, contributing to sustained dispersion amid reduced foreign exposure. This structure limits concentrated private control while highlighting regulatory-state interplay, as the absence of a majority holder aligns incentives with broad market participants but subjects operations to directives. MOEX's dividend policy mandates a minimum payout of 50% of consolidated IFRS net profit annually, with the recommending record dividends of 26.11 rubles per share for 2024—equivalent to 75% of net profit and totaling 59.4 billion rubles—pending approval at the April 4, 2025, Annual General Meeting. This exceeds the prior year's 17.35 rubles per share (65% payout). No share buyback programs were executed in 2024. Minority shareholder protections are embedded in MOEX's Corporate Governance Code, which mandates equal treatment in corporate actions and transparent disclosures in Russian and English, with mechanisms like absentee voting and the ability for holders of at least 2% of voting shares to nominate Supervisory Board candidates. The company reports no instances of minority rights abuse. However, broader Russian market dynamics, including 2025 Central Bank rulings criticizing state seizures of assets in other firms (e.g., UGC) for violating minority buyout obligations, underscore tensions between private protections and potential interventions, though MOEX's structure has not faced such direct challenges.

Regulatory Framework

The Moscow Exchange (MOEX) is primarily supervised by the (Bank of Russia), which exercises regulatory oversight over , including stock exchanges, to ensure compliance with federal laws and prudential standards. This supervision encompasses monitoring trading activities, enforcing disclosure requirements, and addressing violations through mandatory instructions when federal laws or regulatory acts are breached. The core legal basis for MOEX's operations is Federal Law No. 39-FZ "On the Securities Market," enacted on April 22, 1996, which delineates the principles of securities issuance, trading organization, and professional participant licensing while prohibiting manipulative practices such as and market abuse. Under this law, MOEX, as a trading organizer, must maintain participant registers, implement anti-manipulation controls, and adhere to capital adequacy rules for brokers and dealers to mitigate systemic risks. The Bank of Russia further enforces these through ongoing inspections and risk-based supervision tailored to exchange activities. MOEX's financial reporting aligns with (IFRS), applied to its consolidated statements since the early 2010s as part of Russia's convergence with global norms for public interest entities. Specified reports, including those on trading and participant activities, undergo mandatory independent audits to verify accuracy and compliance, with the exchange selecting auditors periodically under its external audit policy. Complementing state regulation, MOEX interacts with self-regulatory organizations (SROs) like the National Finance Association (NFA) and the National Association of Securities Market Participants (NAUFOR), which establish binding professional standards, ethical codes, and compliance monitoring for members while remaining subject to of approval and oversight. These SROs facilitate industry , such as through MOEX's council, which includes SRO representatives to align exchange rules with market-wide practices.

Trading Markets

Equity and Bond Markets

The equity segment of the Moscow Exchange lists shares of over 220 domestic companies as of mid-2025, reflecting a post-sanctions pivot toward Russian issuers after the delisting of many foreign securities in 2022. The , comprising the 50 most liquid blue-chip weighted by free-float , functions as the key performance benchmark and traded around 2,555 points on October 24, 2025. Trading is supported by high domestic participation, with 2024 equity volumes expanding 43.1% year-over-year amid restricted access to international listings. Equity trading operates in an extended introduced in 2025, enabling 17 hours of daily activity from 6:50 to 23:50 across morning (pre-open auction from 6:50 to 9:50), continuous main session, and evening sessions (19:00 to 23:50). Opening auctions utilize limit and orders to establish indicative prices, while closing auctions (lasting 0-30 seconds randomly) accept limit-on-close and market-on-close orders for final pricing, alongside standard limit and market orders in continuous trading. The emphasizes domestic corporate and government issues, with placements totaling RUB 8.4 trillion in 2024 through multiple series, underscoring reliance on Russian entities following sanctions that curtailed foreign-denominated trades. Secondary bond volumes surged 73.5% in early 2025, driven by turnover in ruble-settled OFZ bonds (up 77.9%) and other domestic debt, enhancing liquidity via extended hours aligned with equities (15 hours daily for bonds). Trading mechanisms mirror equities, featuring auctions and negotiated deals for over 500 instruments, with post-2022 adaptations prioritizing non-sanctioned, locally focused issuances.

Foreign Exchange and Money Markets

The Moscow Exchange's (FX) market primarily trades spot and forward contracts in ruble-denominated currency pairs, with settlements handled through the National Clearing Centre. Trading occurs during continuous sessions and auctions, focusing on pairs such as RUB/CNY, RUB/TRY, and RUB/BYN following geopolitical shifts. In June 2024, the exchange suspended all trading and settlements in dollars and euros effective June 13, due to new US sanctions targeting the platform's FX operations, prompting a rapid reorientation toward non-Western currencies. Post-suspension, the Chinese yuan emerged as the dominant foreign currency, accounting for 46% of total currency turnover on the exchange in , as reported by the Bank of Russia. CNY trading volumes surged threefold to 34.2 trillion s in 2023 from the prior year, reflecting increased RUB/CNY pair activity amid ruble centralization—where most FX transactions now involve the against a narrower set of partners. Average daily FX transaction numbers rose alongside overall market growth, with total exchange turnover reaching 1.49 trillion s in , up 14% year-over-year, though FX-specific volumes adapted to exclude USD and EUR pairs. The Money Market complements operations by enabling short-term liquidity provision through repurchase agreements (repos) and interbank lending instruments, cleared via central counterparty mechanisms. The conducts fixed-rate repo auctions on the platform to implement , including standing facilities for liquidity absorption and injection, with transactions often collateralized by ruble-denominated securities. Inter-dealer repos support USD-denominated activity where permissible, but post-2022 adaptations emphasized ruble-based instruments to mitigate sanction risks, maintaining auction-based access for participants.

Derivatives Market

The Moscow Exchange's Derivatives Market operates as a centralized platform for futures and options trading, enabling participants to risks and speculate on price movements in underlying assets such as indices, individual equities, foreign currencies, and commodities. Launched as part of the exchange's multi-asset , it processes millions of contracts daily. Prior to the main session starting at 10:00 a.m., an Opening Auction (pre-open session) is conducted to establish the opening price. During the collection period from 08:50:00 to a random time between 08:59:01 and 08:59:50 MSK, only limit orders and iceberg orders are permitted, with the full quantity of iceberg orders participating; market, fill-or-kill, immediate-or-cancel, book-or-cancel, and negotiated orders are prohibited. Modifications and cancellations are allowed during collection but not thereafter. The opening price maximizes traded volume and minimizes supply-demand imbalance, with ties resolved by market pressure (higher price for demand surplus, lower for supply surplus) or proximity to the last trade price. Compatible orders—bids at or above and offers at or below the opening price—are executed at that single price, prioritizing volume over strict price-time priority. Unexecuted orders carry over to the main session. This auction applies uniformly to all futures contracts, including silver futures, without unique rules. Trading occurs electronically from 10:00 a.m. to 11:50 p.m. on weekdays. Prominent products include futures and options on the , which tracks the performance of Russia's largest blue-chip companies, alongside sector-specific index futures covering Oil & Gas, Metals & Mining, Financials, and Consumer & Retail sectors. Commodity derivatives feature futures on oil, light sweet crude oil, , wheat index, and precious metals like and silver, providing exposure to global and domestic price fluctuations without physical delivery in most cases. Trading activity expanded in 2024-2025, with volumes rising 34.5% in the second quarter of 2025 year-over-year, reflecting sustained demand for hedging amid economic volatility and currency controls. This growth persisted despite U.S. sanctions in June 2024 that suspended spot trading in U.S. dollars and euros, prompting shifts toward ruble-denominated and alternative derivatives. To bolster , the exchange introduced weekend trading for futures contracts starting August 9, 2025, allowing sessions on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 6:59 p.m. . Risk management employs daily mark-to-market valuation, where variation margins are calculated based on closing settlement prices to adjust positions for intraday gains or losses, supplemented by margins calibrated to cover 99% of potential adverse moves over a two-day horizon. Expiry mechanisms vary by : index futures typically settle on the third of the month via cash adjustment to the underlying index level, while commodity futures may roll over or converge to spot prices near delivery months. These link directly to the exchange's spot markets through shared underlyings, such as equities and indices traded on the Equities Market, facilitating and integrated hedging strategies that align futures pricing with cash market dynamics.

Commodities Markets

The Moscow Exchange's commodities markets encompass trading in precious metals, grains, and energy products through spot, futures, and options contracts, primarily via its Derivatives Market and affiliated platforms like the National Commodity Exchange. These markets integrate Russia's by providing hedging and mechanisms for exporters and domestic participants, with a shift toward ruble-denominated instruments and localized settlement following Western sanctions imposed after February 2022. Precious metals trading includes spot sections for and silver, alongside deliverable futures contracts that enable physical delivery, and settled futures denominated in rubles or U.S. dollars prior to broader currency restrictions. Perpetual gold futures were introduced in July 2023 to offer continuous exposure without expiry, complementing benchmark ties to international prices like the London Bullion Market while adapting to sanctions-induced isolation from global clearing systems. Trading volumes in precious metals have exhibited volatility but growth in select periods, with commodity contracts overall rising 29.1% in the first quarter of 2025 amid domestic demand. Grain trading occurs electronically through index futures, such as the CPT Novorossiysk Russian Wheat Index Futures, which track delivery prices at key Black Sea ports and support Russia's role as a leading wheat exporter. These instruments facilitate risk management for agricultural producers and traders via the Derivatives Market, with spot trading handled through group entities like the National Mercantile Exchange for physical grains. Post-sanctions adaptations emphasize electronic platforms to bolster export logistics and counter global supply chain disruptions, aligning with proposals for expanded BRICS-level grain exchanges though implementation remains nascent as of 2025. Energy derivatives feature futures-style options on light and , enabling and hedging tied to domestic production and export dynamics. Following sanctions curtailing access to international benchmarks like , these contracts have pivoted to reflect Urals crude pricing and settlements, prioritizing Russian energy firms' needs over foreign participation. In the second quarter of 2025, derivatives volumes shifted from commodities toward indices, indicating a maturing domestic focus amid restricted cross-border flows. Aggregate commodities volumes underscore integration with Russia's export-oriented sectors, comprising a portion of the Derivatives Market's total turnover—reaching RUB 53.2 trillion (USD 523.4 billion) for 2024 overall—though specific commodity shares declined in mix during early 2025 due to heightened equity and FX activity. This reflects causal pressures from sanctions, which reduced foreign investor exposure while amplifying reliance on local liquidity for metals (key to mining outputs), grains (agricultural staples), and energy (oil and gas revenues funding state budgets).

Clearing and Post-Trade Services

National Clearing Centre

The National Clearing Centre (NCC), established on May 26, 2006, as a within the Moscow Exchange Group, operates as the primary central (CCP) for clearing trades in , equities, and other segments on the exchange. Initially functioning as Bank National Clearing Centre, it transitioned to a dedicated CCP status, interposing itself in transactions to assume obligations and mitigate bilateral risks inherent in direct trading. This structure replaced original buyer-seller exposures with obligations to NCC, enhancing systemic stability through centralized risk bearing. NCC's core risk mitigation relies on the process, executed immediately post-trade, whereby it becomes the buyer to every seller and seller to every buyer, legally guaranteeing performance regardless of original party solvency. To cover potential defaults, NCC mandates contributions to market-specific default funds—four in total for and precious metals, securities, , and other categories—serving as mutualized resources to absorb losses before accessing NCC's own skin-in-the-game capital. Complementary measures include daily of member portfolios against historical and hypothetical extreme scenarios, real-time collateral valuation, and position limits to prevent excessive concentration risks. Following the geopolitical disruptions, which induced sharp volatility in Russian markets, NCC enhanced its framework by introducing provisional elevated risk parameters, such as increased initial margins and volatility buffers, calibrated via advanced modeling to capture tail risks. These adaptations allowed dynamic recalibration; for instance, as volatility subsided, NCC outlined phased reductions in parameters for , precious metals, securities, and markets, ensuring proportionality while maintaining coverage ratios above regulatory minima. NCC's practices conform to key international CCP benchmarks, including the CPMI-IOSCO Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures (PFMI), which parallel EMIR's emphasis on robust , default waterfalls, and recovery planning, though adapted to Russian regulatory oversight by the . This alignment underscores NCC's focus on protection over settlement execution, with audited compliance verifying resilience under varied stress conditions.

National Settlement Depository

The functions as Russia's , providing safekeeping for securities and executing delivery-versus-payment (DVP) mechanisms to ensure simultaneous exchange of securities and cash in post-trade settlements. As the designated CSD under Russian , NSD maintains the central registry for ownership rights, servicing the entirety of federal loan obligations (OFZ) and bonds, as well as over 99% of exchange-traded corporate and regional bonds. It processes settlements for Moscow Exchange trades on a T+2 cycle, where equities and other securities are transferred electronically in its books upon confirmation from the National Clearing Centre. NSD's custody operations emphasize asset immobilization for bonds, whereby physical bond certificates are held centrally while is recorded electronically for participants, reducing handling risks and enabling efficient transfers. For equities, NSD supports full dematerialization, with no physical certificates issued; all ownership is maintained in dematerialized electronic form through its registry, facilitating seamless post-trade flows without the need for certificate delivery. In 2023, NSD serviced 24.6 thousand securities issues in custody, encompassing both domestic and international instruments, underscoring its dominance in Russia's securities safekeeping infrastructure. Prior to Western sanctions, NSD maintained correspondent relationships with international central securities depositories and custodians, supporting cross-border settlement links and foreign investor access to Russian assets via global networks. These ties enabled efficient handling of international securities and nominee accounts for non-resident investors. However, following the imposition of sanctions—including an EU asset freeze on NSD effective June 3, 2022, and subsequent U.S. and U.K. blocking measures—NSD implemented adaptations such as freezing sanctioned foreign-held assets to comply with restrictions, while Russian authorities later amended share recordation rules in 2024 to exclude NSD from custody chains for shares owned by investors in designated "unfriendly" jurisdictions, routing such holdings directly to registrars to mitigate sanction-related disruptions.

Technological and Risk Management Infrastructure

The Moscow Exchange employs a suite of trading interfaces and protocols to facilitate efficient order execution and dissemination, including native APIs such as ASTS Bridge and Plaza II, alongside standard FIX and FAST protocols. These systems support (DMA) with low-latency capabilities, enabling (HFT) activities that constitute 35% to 57% of total trading volume on the exchange. Participants can access real-time feeds via the and FAST protocol, with options for co-location to minimize execution delays. For over-the-counter (OTC) trading in and precious metals, the exchange utilizes the NTPro platform, which enhances speed by reducing latency and rejection rates compared to prior s. Specialized terminals like MOEX Trade SE provide ergonomic tools for equities trading, integrating , advanced , and optimized order placement. trading occurs via the SPECTRA , supporting access across multiple . Risk management at the Moscow Exchange centers on a central (CCP) framework operated by the National Clearing Centre (NCC), incorporating initial margin requirements calculated via a Value-at- (VaR)-like model at a 99% confidence level. This model assesses open positions daily, factoring in rates, concentration limits, and technical parameters that are recalibrated regularly to reflect volatility. Additional safeguards include contributions to the defaulter's guarantee fund and dedicated CCP capital, alongside default management procedures to mitigate failures. Margin calls are triggered based on these calculations to ensure collateral adequacy, with intraday adjustments for to cover potential losses. To curb excessive volatility, the exchange implements circuit breakers that temporarily suspend trading upon detection of sharp price movements, allowing market participants time to reassess positions. These mechanisms, combined with price variation limits for futures contracts, help maintain orderly markets without overlapping into clearing-specific processes. Cybersecurity features comprehensive policies designed to shield trading systems from threats, including DDoS attacks and unauthorized access, fostering a secure environment for participants. However, the exchange faced a significant cyber disruption in February 2022, attributed to external attacks amid geopolitical tensions, which temporarily halted operations but was resolved without long-term systemic compromise. Ongoing measures emphasize resilience, though specific post-incident enhancements remain tied to broader operational adaptations rather than publicly detailed technological overhauls.

Economic Role and Performance

Key Financial Metrics and Indices

In 2024, Moscow Exchange generated significant revenue growth from trading fees, with fee and commission income from the equities market rising 44.7% year-over-year, supported by a 43.1% increase in trading volumes. The contributed notably, with fees up 24.3% amid elevated activity in government and corporate securities. Overall operating income for the year reflected these trends, though exact consolidated figures emphasized the platform's role in domestic capital markets post-sanctions. Into 2025, financial metrics showed mixed results. First-quarter operating income fell to RUB 28.6 billion from RUB 34.0 billion in the prior year's first quarter, reflecting broader market pressures. However, second-quarter bond market fees surged 77.7%, driven by a 64.1% rise in trading volumes excluding overnight bonds, highlighting resilience in fixed-income segments. Year-to-date through September, total trading volumes across markets reached substantial levels, with September alone at RUB 162.7 trillion, including equities and derivatives activity, though equities segments experienced YTD declines compared to 2024 peaks due to reduced foreign inflows. Bond volumes rebounded strongly, exceeding prior-year levels in key months. The , comprising major Russian blue-chip stocks and serving as the exchange's primary benchmark, exhibited volatility in 2025. It dropped to 2,226.65 by May 28, reflecting a 5.07% year-to-date decline amid geopolitical tensions and sanctions. The index later fluctuated, sinking toward year-to-date lows of 2,540 on before partial recovery to 2,570 by October 24. These levels remain below pre-sanctions peaks exceeding 3,800 in early 2022, with trading suspended briefly post-invasion contributing to the divergence from historical highs.
Segment2024 Key Metric2025 YTD Trend (as of Q2)
EquitiesVolumes +43.1%; Fees +44.7%Declines in trading activity vs. 2024
BondsVolumes growth; Fees +24.3%Volumes +64.1%; Fees +77.7% (Q2)
Total VolumesElevated domestic focusSeptember: RUB 162.7 trln; YTD mixed with bond rebounds
Comparisons to pre-2022 peaks underscore contraction: annual trading volumes in equities and segments have not regained pre-sanctions levels, which benefited from higher international participation, with the index averaging above 3,000 prior to the invasion.

Contribution to Russian Economy

The Moscow Exchange (MOEX) facilitates efficient capital allocation in by enabling corporations to access domestic savings through public listings, IPOs, and bond issuances, thereby channeling funds to productive uses based on market-determined prices that reflect expected returns and risks. In 2024, 247 companies executed 759 bond placements on the exchange, raising substantial capital for expansion and operations while providing investors with diversified opportunities tied to real economic output. This process lowers financing costs compared to lending alone, as competitive pricing incentivizes issuers to align with investor demands for transparency and , ultimately directing resources toward sectors with highest marginal . High trading volumes on MOEX ensure provision across , minimizing price volatility from order imbalances and enabling rapid adjustment of portfolios to changing economic signals, which supports sustained capital inflows into viable enterprises. The exchange's equity stood at approximately 47 trillion rubles in late , equivalent to about 25% of Russia's GDP, indicating its material though constrained depth in benchmarking corporate value against national output. This ratio highlights MOEX's function in aggregating household and institutional savings—reaching 35.1 million individual brokerage accounts by year-end—into equity stakes that fund and without relying solely on state-directed . MOEX's indices, including the tracking the 50 largest companies, provide the with key metrics for assessing inflationary pressures, credit conditions, and overall liquidity, informing key rate adjustments and reserve requirements to stabilize macroeconomic variables. These benchmarks enable causal linkages between market dynamics and policy responses, as real-time trading data reveal mismatches between and asset demands, allowing preemptive interventions that mitigate disruptions to investment flows and maintain equilibrium in capital markets.

Resilience and Adaptations Under Sanctions

Despite comprehensive Western sanctions imposed since February 2022, the Moscow Exchange maintained operational continuity by redirecting trading activity toward domestic instruments and partnerships with non-sanctioning economies, particularly in . Forex trading volumes pivoted heavily to the Chinese yuan, which overtook the US dollar as the most traded in 2023, comprising 42% of total trades that year. By mid-2024, yuan-denominated pairs dominated, accounting for over 54% of Moscow Exchange forex activity in May and reaching 99.6% of exchange-traded forex volumes by July following intensified restrictions on other currencies. This shift preserved liquidity in currency markets, with yuan-ruble trading hitting record daily levels of 7.82 billion yuan in July 2022 and sustaining elevated annual turnovers thereafter. Overall trading volumes demonstrated resilience, exceeding 1 quadrillion rubles (approximately $14 trillion at contemporaneous rates) annually in both and 2023, driven by heightened activity in bonds, , and commodities amid restricted foreign asset access. Equity and markets adapted through increased domestic issuance, with placements doubling to 5.47 trillion rubles in 2023 excluding overnight instruments. The , despite periodic volatility from sanction escalations, rebounded to pre- levels by May 2024, reflecting sustained investor participation in ruble-denominated assets supported by interventions and capital controls. Recent data as of October 2025 shows the index fluctuating around 2,500-2,600 points, with recoveries following dips tied to sector-specific measures like oil sanctions. Key adaptations included enhanced use of Russia's System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS) as a SWIFT alternative for cross-border and domestic settlements, facilitating continuity in clearing and depository operations via entities like the National Clearing Centre and National Settlement Depository. Following the June 2024 US designation of the Moscow Exchange itself, trading migrated further to over-the-counter mechanisms and SPFS-linked channels, mitigating disruptions without precipitating a ruble collapse, though transaction costs rose. State-backed policies, including mandatory ruble settlements for certain imports and promotion of parallel supply chains, underpinned this functionality by sustaining underlying economic flows and preventing systemic liquidity shortfalls. These measures, combined with fiscal support from the National Wealth Fund, enabled the exchange to process trillions of rubles in monthly volumes—such as 25 trillion rubles in forex alone in recent periods—countering expectations of total market paralysis.

Controversies and Criticisms

International Sanctions and Their Effects

On June 12, 2024, the United States Department of the Treasury designated the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) under Executive Order 14024 for its role in facilitating transactions that support Russia's military-industrial base and broader war economy. These sanctions, part of a package exceeding 300 designations coordinated with the State Department ahead of the G7 summit, prohibited U.S. persons from engaging in most transactions involving MOEX, its affiliates like the National Clearing Centre, and related entities. In direct response, MOEX suspended trading in U.S. dollars and euros effective immediately on June 12, 2024, citing the sanctions' restrictions on settlement and clearing for these currencies. The halt triggered an initial dip in Russian stock prices, with the falling approximately 1-2% in early trading sessions following the announcement, reflecting investor uncertainty over foreign currency liquidity and potential spillover to other assets. However, trading in rubles, Chinese yuan, and other non-sanctioned currencies persisted without interruption, and the exchange avoided a full operational shutdown by redirecting settlements through domestic channels and parallel platforms. Market participants reported a relatively subdued reaction on the first trading day post-suspension, with volumes shifting to over-the-counter deals and alternative venues, enabling partial continuity for affected trades. U.S. officials aimed to curb Russia's sanctions evasion by increasing risks for foreign financial institutions interfacing with sanctioned entities like MOEX, thereby disrupting funding flows to the war effort. Russian authorities and market observers countered that the measures prompted accelerated de-dollarization, with trading volumes in yuan and ruble pairs rising as alternatives, limiting long-term disruptions as evidenced by stabilized exchange operations into 2025. Secondary U.S. sanctions extended this pressure to enablers, such as Kyrgyz banks like Keremet Bank designated in January 2025 for facilitating Russian import-export payments via covert channels, underscoring efforts to close evasion routes tied to Moscow's financial infrastructure. Critics of the sanctions' efficacy, drawing on 2025 trading data, argue their impact remained contained, as MOEX adapted without systemic collapse, while proponents highlight heightened compliance costs for global counterparties.

Allegations of State Influence and Market Manipulation

In April 2022, Russian authorities enacted No. 114-FZ, prohibiting Russian issuers from maintaining depositary receipts on foreign exchanges and mandating their by , 2022, thereby channeling trading activity toward domestic platforms like the Moscow Exchange. Critics, including Western financial analysts, have cited such measures as evidence of Kremlin-directed consolidation of market control, arguing they prioritize over investor choice and limit competitive global exposure. However, these policies align with broader de-globalization efforts amid geopolitical tensions, and empirical trading data post-implementation shows sustained liquidity on MOEX without evident suppression of private listings. Allegations of on the Moscow Exchange have primarily involved private actors rather than state orchestration, with the (CBR) conducting investigations into specific trades. For instance, in July 2025, the CBR identified manipulation in derivatives contracts by coordinated groups using algorithmic patterns to distort prices, leading to administrative penalties. Similarly, a probe accused a trader of manipulating eight securities via 300 billion rubles in coordinated trades, resulting in fines but no systemic state involvement. The exchange itself has flagged potential manipulations, such as media reports on tycoon releases that coincided with share spikes, prompting enhanced monitoring protocols. These cases, resolved through regulatory enforcement, indicate reactive oversight rather than engineered crashes, contrasting with unsubstantiated claims of state-orchestrated volatility akin to flash events in less regulated markets. Counter to narratives of pervasive control, MOEX's base—39.7% Russian, 35.9% U.S., and 9.4% U.K. as of recent disclosures—reflects private and foreign participation, supporting competitive listings driven by rather than . Trading volumes in non-state-linked equities have remained robust, with private investors comprising a significant portion of activity, suggesting market dynamics persist amid policy constraints. This structure mirrors state-capitalist models in other economies, where regulatory alignment enables collateral financing without eroding core exchange functions, as evidenced by MOEX's post-policy adaptations maintaining index stability. While source biases in Western reporting may amplify perceptions of , verifiable enforcement actions prioritize empirical violations over ideological control.

Shareholder Rights and Transparency Issues

In October 2025, Russia's ruled that the state violated minority shareholder rights in the seizure of a majority stake in gold producer Uzhuralzoloto (UGC), a company listed on the Moscow Exchange, by failing to offer a mandatory to remaining shareholders holding approximately 10% of the shares. Moscow Exchange itself lodged a complaint with the regarding the UGC case, citing breaches of Russian , which requires offers within 35 days for acquisitions exceeding 30% ownership to protect minority interests. Disclosure practices for Moscow Exchange-listed companies reveal gaps between Russian Accounting Standards (RAS) and (IFRS), with listed issuers required to prepare annual statements under IFRS but often facing incomplete summaries lacking full disclosures due to domestic regulatory variances. Post-2022 sanctions, reduced mandatory disclosure requirements permitted by Russian government resolutions have heightened risks of opacity in corporate reporting, potentially undermining comparability and verifiability for investors. Prior to 2022, minority shareholders in Moscow Exchange-listed firms with international depository receipts (e.g., GDRs traded in ) could pursue legal recourse through under foreign jurisdictions, such as clauses, providing avenues beyond domestic courts. These options diminished after delistings and sanctions restricted cross-border enforcement, limiting effective remedies to primarily Russian despite ongoing oversight. Such violations and disclosure shortcomings have eroded investor confidence, evidenced by a roughly 30% decline in the Moscow Exchange index since and deterrence of new public listings amid fears of asset instability. Foreign participation metrics reflect this, with sanctions and rights concerns contributing to sustained capital outflows and a "Russian discount" in valuations.

References

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