Moscow Exchange announced on 24 February 2025 that experimental weekend share trading would begin on 1 March. Initially, the most liquid shares would qualify. Weekend sessions would form part of the following trading day, with price movements limited to 3% from the previous close.
First weekend
- 1 March: opening auction at 14:00, followed by trading until 19:00.
- 2 March: opening auction at 09:50, followed by trading until 19:00.
All times are Moscow time. The exchange warned that lower liquidity could trigger stop orders.
Preparations before the launch announcement
On 12 February, Interfax reported the exchange's plan to begin testing the weekend session on 15 February. At that stage, readiness for experimental trading by 1 March was a technical target, while the launch decision was to be announced separately. The preparation notice also provided for professional participants to be admitted by default, with an option to decline participation. Those arrangements concerned the admission of market participants, not confirmation that every broker had already offered the service to customers.
Production-environment tests
A separate exchange notice dated 19 February scheduled stock-market weekend-session tests for 22–23 February on the production environment, alongside testing on the INET_GATEWAY test platform. The published stock-market timetable included opening auctions, trading periods and clearing operations. The following day's programme included morning, main and evening sessions. The notice asked firms not participating in the exercise to disconnect their gateways and terminals during the test weekend to avoid receiving test data. It was a testing announcement, not a report of completed live customer trades.
Company and media contact
Moscow Exchange. Current corporate releases list PR@moex.com and +7 (495) 363-3232 for media enquiries. Website: https://www.moex.com/. This is the press contact for enquiries about the historical announcement, not a customer trading-support address or confirmation of today's session timetable.