Russia’s Saint-Petersburg Exchange is adding 100 US stocks to its Trading Platform , citing demand for foreign stocks was strong. The offering, which was launched five years ago with stocks listed in the S&P 500 index, has already helped MOEX’s rival increase the number of clients and trading volumes.
The bourse also plans to launch trading on stocks of the famous ride-hailing company, Uber Technologies Inc., which was floated earlier this year on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
The service debuted at Saint-Petersburg Exchange in 2014 with 50 most liquid stocks of leading issuers from the S&P 500, including Bank of America Corporation, Morgan Stanley and Visa Inc. According to the exchange’s data, this segment raised the number of client accounts to over 46,000 in late 2018 up from 7,000 at the start of last year. Trading volumes also jumped during this period to over $1.1 billion from only $450 million in January.
MOEX put off a similar offering
Trades of US stocks are made using a trading and clearing system that was developed by Russian no-profit partnership RTS, while actual shares are held by the county’s Settlement Depository Company and can be transferred to any depository worldwide.
One other advantage that this approach brings is to allow Russian buyers of US stocks to receive dividends as other stockholders.
Moscow Exchange (MOEX), the Saint-Petersburg Exchange’s main rival in Russia, said earlier it would make a similar offering but then put off the plan, which helped lift interest in Petersburg’s existing service.
Moscow Exchange (MOEX) is the largest exchange group in Russia and Eastern Europe by trading volumes and number of clients. The MOEX currency family offers benchmarks for a number of currency pairs mainly thanks to its high Liquidity , transparency, and historical foundation.
In recent years, MOEX’s FX market has developed from a limited segment within the Russian interbank market to a global trading platform for ruble operations. The bourse said that its new service is in demand from international clients and it also helps to promote the MOEX FX market.
