Futures & Options On The RTS Stock Market Derivatives Market

For the week of March 1st - March 5th, 2004, total trading volume on FORTS (Futures & Options on the RTS) increased by 17% to 785 thousand contracts and by 18% in rubles to 6 349 million rubles. Total open interest as of March 5th, 2004, reached 6 034 million rubles and 716 thousand contracts, a 0.2% increase in rubles and 2% increase in contracts.

FORTS, a unified derivatives market operating since September 19, 2001, is based on trading and settlement technologies and software that were implemented at and have been successfully used by St. Petersburg Stock Exchange for 8 years. RTS acts as the trading system and the clearinghouse on the integrated market. 86 companies from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Ekaterinburg, Samara, Rostov-on-Don, Kazan and Abakan FORTS participants trade 8 futures contracts and 3 options.