OREANDA-NEWS. October 29, 2009. Effective November 2, 2009 RTS Stock Exchange will start calculating the RTS Index on a different basis. In accordance with the reviewed methodology for RTS Index calculation, stock prices revealed on RTS Standard will now be used for calculation of the RTS Index.

RTS Index is calculated based on trades in and quotes for 50 most liquid securities. As of November 2, 2009 prices for 17 stocks trading on RTS Standard will be employed in calculation of the RTS Index, prices for the remaining 33 stocks will still come from RTS Classica where they are trading in US dollars. The ruble denominated RTS Standard stock prices will be converted into dollars at the real time USD/RUB quotes with settlement on T+1 as under the new methodology.

The new methodology extends Index calculation so that it will cover both the daily and the evening trading, thus allowing investors to assess the Russian stock market trends during the evening trading session and effectively trade in futures from 7:00 pm to 11:50 pm MSK.

"RTS Standard has demonstrated high liquidity, and the decision to update the RTS Index calculation methodology is only natural, as it allows the RTS Index to reflect the stock market tendencies in a most accurate and objective way. In addition, the RTS Index will be calculated not only during the main trading session but also during the evening trading session that is open until 11:50 pm MSK enabling the RTS Index to track the reaction of Russian investors to the changing global financial market trends", says Roman Goryunov, CEO of RTS Stock Exchange.

The new calculation methodology was registered by the Federal Financial Markets Service on October 23, 2009.

Methodologies for calculation of the RTS-2 Index and RTS Sectoral Indices are similar to that for the RTS Index and also include prices revealed on RTS Standard.

RTS Index is the main benchmark of the Russian stock market first calculated on September 1, 1995, its initial value was set at 100 points. The RTS Index is calculated based on 50 stocks of most capitalized Russian issuers. The RTS Indices family includes: RTS Index, RTS-2 Index, RTS Index – Oil & Gas (RTSog), RTS Index - Telecom (RTStl), RTS Index - Industrial (RTSin), RTS Index – Metals & Mining (RTSmm), RTS Index – Consumer & Retail (RTScr), RTS Index – Electric Utilities (RTSeu), and RTS Index - Financials (RTSfn).

RTS Standardsets a totally new standard for equity trading in Russia. It will facilitate building up the liquidity of the Russian securities market, curb counterparties’ risks and boost development of the infrastructure. It aims to attract substantial international investor interest into the local equity market due to the applied global standards of trading.

RTS Standard offers CCP trading in anonymous order book without full advance depositing of assets and with settlement on T+4. The market hours are from 10.30 am to 11.50 pm MSK. The range of instruments includes top 22 liquid stocks of Russian issuers. RTS Standard also offers portfolio margining with trades made on FORTS, RTS’s derivatives section, which makes trading in all the instruments possible using a single, consolidated cash position.