In 1999, the Russian stock market showed rapid growth, caused by improving macroeconomic indicators. For the first time, the MICEX became leader in terms of its share in the turnover of trading in the Russian market of corporate securities. In 1999, the volume of transactions in stocks, carried out on the MICEX, reached 76,1 billion rubles or 53% of the total turnover of the RF leading exchange floors. Over the year, the MICEX Summary Stock Index, calculated on the basis of quotations of stocks of leading Russian issuers, grew to 150 points (45 points in January 1999). Taking into account the growing interest of participants, the MICEX continued the functional development of the market. In particular, in addition to the main trading scheme, the MICEX introduced the "negotiated deals" mode of concluding transactions, providing participants more flexible conditions of trading and settlements (with the possibility of refusing from prepayment). The use of the new mode of trading enabled placement and secondary trading in the corporate bonds of such leading Russian companies as Gazprom, LUKoil, Tyumen Oil Ccompany, RAO UES and ALROSA, which soon became attractive instruments in the stock market of Russia. In 1999, 11,0 billion rubles worth of corporate bonds were placed in the Stock Market Section. This made the MICEX Russia's first and only trading floor that organized the market of corporate bonds.

It was in 1999 that the role of the MICEX as the shaper of the opinion of the financial and banking community on the topical issues of the development of the market became especially vivid. Jointly with its partners (the Association of Russian Banks, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the National Stock Market Association, the National Foreign Exchange Association and the Association of the Bill Market Participants) the MICEX initiated a number of important programs, such as "The Program of restoration of the Russian securities market", the draft short-term government program "Emergency measures to restore the Russian market of corporate securities with the aim of attracting investments in the manufacturing sector", "The Program of support for the activities of the Russian companies-issuers in the securities market «, the Code of conduct of the participants of the currency market (the Code of Members of the National Foreign Exchange Association) and some others.

Experts were unanimous in predicting acute problems for the Russian stock market in 1999. It was thought that investors had lost their confidence in Russian securities and that the economic and political state of the country did not inspire any optimism. The prevailing opinion was that in 1999, the market would not show any considerable growth.

However, the results of 1999 disproved that pessimistic opinion, at least as regards the domestic market of corporate securities. That year, Russian stocks were among the fastest-growing in the world. The growth of the global index of the International Financial Corporation (IFC), calculated for the Russian stock market, amounted to 185%, yielding only to Turkey (250%).

An important reason of that impressive result was the fact that in the post-crisis conditions, the MICEX trading and settlement system demonstrated its advantages, which lied in providing transparency for investors and a reliable settlement system.

The 1999 success was achieved, in particular, thanks to the MICEX listing procedure, which included the preparation of experts' opinion about the compliance of securities to the MICEX requirements. Listing means certain guarantees of quality of financial instruments. It considerably raises the transparency of issuers.

At the end of 1999, 174 securities of 112 issuers were in secondary circulation in the MICEX Stock Market Section, including 13 stocks of 7 issuers on the 1st level quotation list.

On 22 February 1999, a new trading mode, the "negotiated deals mode" (NDM), was introduced in the MICEX Stock Market Section. As was proved by later events, it was a correct and very timely step. In October, the largest transactions in the MICEX stock market history were carried out in that mode. The share of transactions, concluded in NDM, grew from 1% in the beginning of 1999 to about 82,5% of the total turnover in November. One of the main features of NDM is the fact that participants can choose their counteragents, while the MICEX secures the observance of the "delivery versus payment" principle as main mode of trading.

The MICEX was developing trading in new financial instruments. Trading in corporate bonds was launched in June 1999. The MICEX had solved all technical problems of the project before the crisis of 1998, so it was fully prepared for the event. From June till December 1999, about 11 million corporate bonds of leading Russian issuers were placed on the MICEX, among them LUKoil, Gazprom, TNK, RAO UES, Alrosa and Mostotrest. The amount of attracted funds reached over 10 billion rubles.