OREANDA-NEWS. May 4, 2010. On April 28, 2010 a new trading record was set on FORTS, derivatives market of RTS, during the evening trading session – RUB34.755 billion or USD1.182 billion in value. It is the highest value since the launch of the evening trading session on FORTS.

The previous record was seen on April 27, 2010, when evening trading on FORTS exceeded RUB29.809 billion or USD1.029 billion.

As the Russian financial market is part of the international financial system, external news from global markets strongly influence the local market. Thanks to the additional evening session that lasts from 7:00pm to 11:50pm MSK, market participants have an opportunity to benefit from news that is available after the primary trading session has closed and neutralize morning gaps. For example, the change of RTS Index futures for the evening trading session would make 2.3%. If there were no evening trading session, a morning gap for the RTS Index futures would make 2.3%. During the evening trading session the price for the futures contracts fell from 157,510 to 153,965 index points. On the morning of April 28, 2010, the first trade was concluded at the price of 154,000, i.e. the difference stood at 0.02% against the price at 11:50pm MSK of April 27, 2010, which gave investors an opportunity to hedge their positions, make corrections to the investment portfolio and evade losses at the opening of trade on April 29, 2010.

Among the most effective strategies used during the evening trading session one can name arbitrage operations between the Russian and foreign commodities, cash and stock markets.

FORTS, the derivatives market of RTS, is the leading trading venue for futures and options in Russia. Trading on FORTS started in September 2001. According to the Futures Industry Association the derivatives market of RTS is among the TOP-10 global derivatives exchanges based on the results of 2009. At present FORTS has the widest range of instruments in Russia. These are 47 contracts (34 futures and 13 options) on RTS Index, RTS Standard Index, shares of Russian companies, bonds, short term interest rates, currency, oil, gasoil, gold, silver, and sugar.