Moscow, Feb 21, 2026, 11:54 (MSK) — Regular session
Shares in Moscow Exchange were up about 0.2% at 181.61 roubles by 11:54 MSK on Saturday, in the bourse’s weekend trading session. The stock was last at 181.22 roubles at Friday’s close and has traded between 181.22 and 181.73 so far on Saturday, Investing.com data showed. (Investing.com Россия)
The exchange said on Friday that investors would be able to trade units of two more exchange-traded funds on weekends from Feb. 21, taking the weekend list of shares and fund units to 287, as it widens a format it launched in March 2025. The funds are the SBMX and AMRE products managed by Pervaya and Aton Management, it said. Weekend trading on the stock market runs 09:50 to 19:00 MSK as an extra session of the next trading day, with price limits narrowed to 3% and liquidity supported by market makers; the format has attracted more than 2 million participants and turnover above 708.8 billion roubles, its press service said. (Финансы Mail)
That expansion matters for MOEX’s own share price because the exchange collects fees on trades and clearing, and it has leaned on retail flow to keep activity up. The weekend session is still small next to the weekday market, but it is one of the few visible growth levers at a time when many investors are holding back.
Russia’s MOEX Index rose 0.28% on Friday to 2,780.6 points and the dollar-based RTS index added 0.14%, while the yuan-to-rouble rate ended at 11.11, TASS reported. Alexander Shepelev, a stock market expert at BCS World of Investments, said geopolitical uncertainty and the approaching weekend restrained activity, though investors were encouraged by reports that EU representatives had not reached a consensus on a new sanctions package and would keep talking. BCS forecast the MOEX index in a 2,720-2,820 band on Tuesday after the Feb. 23 holiday; Freedom Finance Global put it at 2,700-2,800. (TASS)
Analysts also pointed to thin catalysts. “Investors are not inclined to take risks before long holidays,” Alexei Kalachev at Finam said in a note carried by RIA, while Alexander Dudnikov at Cifra Broker said the index was stuck between 2,750 and 2,800 points, a level close to its 50-day moving average, a widely followed technical gauge. Brent crude was down around 0.3% at $71.46 a barrel during the session, the report said. (InvestFuture)
Moscow Exchange shares are down 24.11% over the past year, Interfax data showed. The company paid 26.11 roubles per share in dividends for 2024, but no dividend was listed for 2025. (Interfax)
But the weekend bump can be noisy. Volumes are thinner, and any shock in oil or the rouble could sap risk appetite and cut trading activity.
Investors will watch the exchange’s February trading volume update due on March 2, a read-through for fee momentum going into the spring. The company has also flagged a conference call and webcast on its full-year 2025 results under IFRS, the International Financial Reporting Standards, later in March. (Moex)
