On September 1 st , 1995, the list of stocks used to calculate the Index was set as follows: common stock of "RAO UES of Russia" ( EESR ), "Irkutskenergo" ( IRGZ ), "KamAz" ( KMAZ ), "Komineft" ( KNFT ), "LUKoil" ( LKOH ), "Mosenergo" ( MSNG ), "Norilsk Nickel" ( NKEL ), "Noyabskneftegaz" ( NYGS ), "Purneftegaz" ( PFGS ), "Rostelecom" ( RTKM ), "Surgutneftegaz" ( SNGS ), "Tomskneft" ( TOMG ), "Yuganskneftegaz" ( YFGA ). This was the shortest list of constituent stocks in the Index history.
The longest list of constituents comprised of 108 stocks (the entire list of stocks admitted to trading on the RTS Stock Exchange) was used in the second quarter of 1998.
8 stocks from the first constituents' list – "RAO UES of Russia", "LUKoil", "Mosenergo", "Norilsk Nickel", "Rosneft-Purneftegaz" (former "Purneftegaz"), "Rostelecom" and "Surgutneftegaz" has been used in Index calculation for the entire decade. The shortest term on the list of constituents was served by "Novosibirskaya City Telephone System" preferred stock – 35 days, from June 1 st to July 6 th , 1998.
In 10 years of Index history the total of 168 securities issued by 114 companies was used to calculate the Index.
The most heavily weighted stock in the Index was "LUKOil" common stock – 34,84% as of March 31 st , 1999. Apart from "LUKOil", only "RAO UES of Russia" common stock was able to exceed 30% in the total Index composition at the end of 1997.
Two stocks – "Surgutneftegaz" common and "YUKOs" common reached the weight exceeding 20% of the total Index composition. Three other stocks – "Norilsk Nickel", "SIBNEFT" and "Sberbank of the Russian Federation" common stocks showed weights of more than 10% in the Index. "LUKoil" common stock is the only stock in the Index whose relative weight in the Index never fell lower than 10%.
The Index showed its all-time minimum on October 2 nd , 1998 – 37,74. The all-time maximum – 899.47 – was registered today, September 1 st , 2005, at 13:42 Moscow Times.
The largest increase in the Index value during one trading session – 16.85% - was registered twice. For the first time it happened on July 14 th , 1998, on the news that the IMF would provide Russia with the final credit, for the second – on December 31 st , 1998, when Boris Yeltsin declared his resignation as the President of the Russian Federation.
The largest drop in the Index – 19.03% and the largest change during one session – happened on the ‘Black Monday' of world financial markets on October 28 th , 1997, when Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong lost 14% and DJIA (Dow Jones Industrial Average) dropped by 7%.
The Index reached the 100-point threshold on September 5 th , 1995. The value of 200 points was registered on June 25 th , 1996, 300 – on February 10 th , 1997, 400 – on June 23 rd , 1997, 500- July 25 th , 1997, 600 – October 3 rd , 2003, 700 – March 18 th , 2004, 800 – August 5 th , 2005.
Starting November 1996, RTS Index was calculated every hour. In January 1998 the Exchange began calculating its main indicator every 30 minutes. Since January 2005 RTS Index has been calculated real-time.
Since July 1 st , 2004, the methodology of Index calculation was amended to take into account free-float coefficients. Since July 15 th , 2005, the number of stocks – Index constituents – was limited to 15, and the total weight of each stock in the Index – to 15%. Beginning August 3 rd , 1995, investors received an opportunity to actually trade the Index. FORTS (Futures and Options on RTS), the derivatives market of the RTS Group, began to offer its participants a futures contract on RTS Index, currently the most popular financial instrument on the market.
