Moscow Stock Exchange To Launch AI-Selected Securities Market In 2026

The Moscow Stock Exchange (MOEX) intends to launch a stock index with securities selected by artificial intelligence (AI) in 2026, according to Viktor Zhidkov, the chairman of the trading platform’s executive board.

He said that “We want to launch an index next year, where artificial intelligence will be used to form the calculation base. We believe that artificial intelligence has the ability to interpret the landscape, all content related to issuer companies, and select issuers it considers most promising for building an index. We will incorporate the limitations contained in regulatory requirements. At the same time, it will be the artificial intelligence that will analyze and react to all the changes it sees in the information space, catch all the signals, and provide the composition of this index with its recommendations. Currently, securities are selected for indices based on a number of criteria, the main one being the free-float capitalization of the securities.”

For now, the plans are only for a stock index, with Zhidkov adding, “We have the main stock index IMOEX; it is popular; many instruments are created based on this index. It seems to us that comparing these indices will allow investors to evaluate the capabilities of artificial intelligence. An index is a simplification for an investor in choosing an investment object. This tool will allow for both diversifying investments and, at the same time, obtaining maximum returns in terms of optimal risk and choice. Our task is to compare the technologies developed by the minds of the regulatory view, the exchange view, market analysts, and artificial intelligence, which, in our opinion, can demonstrate the ability to process information faster, extract certain interrelationships, and form certain conclusions regarding a particular security. And what comes out of it will be interesting to analyze.”

Major stock exchanges, including Nasdaq, London Stock Exchange (LSE) Group, Euronext, and Deutsche Börse, extensively use AI for various operations, particularly in market surveillance, operational efficiency, and enhancing data analytics. However, AI is primarily used to support market functions and detect anomalies, rather than for the actual execution of the majority of trades, which is largely driven by participants’ algorithmic trading systems (ATS). In this instance, the MOEX use of AI appears to offer an index alternative based on AI decision-making itself, which would be a world-first.