Russia’s RTS extends trading hours

The head of Russia's RTS stock exchange, Roman Goryunov, has confirmed to RT that it will launch evening trade in futures and options. The longer hours are the latest bid by the RTS to grab more of the futures market.

From May 16, the exchange will trade almost to midnight, offering a full range of futures and options on commodities, indices and currencies.

“Russian players will be able to react to European and American news and minimise their risks. Their will be less of a gap when trade starts the next day,” said Roman Goryunov.

The exchange hopes the move will boost volumes by up to 25%.

The next step for RTS will be to offer overnight trading, allowing Russia's Far East greater access to the nation’s stock market.

RTS currently trades $US 25 billion a month, well behind its rival MICEX, with $ US 300 billion.