"Stock Trading from 7 a.m." KRX Unveils Move to Counter NextTrade

Aiming to Expand Trading Hours from 6.5 to 12 Hours per Day, Gathering Industry Feedback
One Hour Earlier Than Previous "Early Regular Session" Proposals
Targeting Morning Commute Investors and Differentiating from Alternative Trading System Nex

The Korea Exchange (KRX) is considering introducing a "pre-market" that would operate from 7 a.m., aiming for 12 hours of trading per day. This plan would open the market one hour earlier than previously discussed proposals to extend trading hours.

According to the financial investment industry on September 4, the exchange recently floated this idea to financial authorities and industry participants. Specifically, the structure would involve a pre-market session from 7:00 a.m. to 7:50 a.m., followed by the regular session from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and then an after-market session from 3:40 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Previous proposals included moving the opening of the regular session forward from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., or operating a pre-market from 8:00 a.m. and an after-market until 8:00 p.m., similar to the alternative trading system (ATS) NextTrade. However, the new plan aims to capture trading demand from commuters by opening an hour earlier and to differentiate itself from NextTrade.

However, the exchange cautioned against overinterpretation, stating that this is just one of several ideas under consideration. The exchange has set a goal to increase daily trading hours from the current 6 hours and 30 minutes to 12 hours within the year and is currently gathering feedback from member firms and holding discussions with major securities companies.