The MICEX Stock Exchange is gaining back some of its lost trading volume after a brutal autumn in which market conditions pushed the trading of many Russian securities onto the London Stock Exchange, Federal Service for Financial Market head Vladimir Milovidov said Wednesday.

October represented a nadir for the MICEX, with over half of Russian securities being traded on the LSE, Milovidov said, but since then MICEX has been able to surpass the financial center and now trades a greater volume of domestic securities, not taking into account repurchasing agreements.

By April, 68 percent of Russia's securities were traded on the local exchange and 32 percent on the LSE, he said, speaking at the MICEX financial forum.

The conference, the first of its kind for MICEX, comes just a week after the ruble-denominated index broke the 1,000-point barrier -- the first time it has done so since October 1.

Milovidov acknowledged that much of the lost volume was because of the irregular market closings in the fall, when the exchange was halted over 30 times, helping the exchange lose 50 percent of its value. He called the experience a "serious trial for market participants and regulators."

Now, he said, there is a "real chance" for MICEX to compete with other foreign exchanges, a sentiment echoed by other forum participants.

VEB deputy chief Sergei Lykov said the market was "located in a new stage of growth." And MDM-Bank chairman Oleg Vyugin said the index might also benefit from certain indicators suggesting that the economic decline has stabilized.

During his speech, Milovidov defended the index's ban against short selling and margin trading, saying it was necessary for regulatory purposes. "We are watching to make sure that these rules are adhered to but that liquidity grows all the same," he said.

He added that the service would be supporting a bill that would extend a tax deduction of at least 1 million rubles ($31,250) to long-term investors, a change that could come into effect by the end of this year.

While forum participants remained bearish on Russia's competitiveness, some said the market was inhibited by multiple exchanges.

"I don't understand why a St. Petersburg stock exchange is being created as well," said Anatoly Aksakov, president of the Russian Association of Regional Banks.

"We have to compete on the international market and consolidate our financial infrastructure to compete successfully in the global arena, he said."

Milovidov said the question of merging MICEX and its local dollar-denominated competitor, RTS, was still open to discussion.