TIMING THE MARKET

NSE had hoped market hours for derivatives would be extended by March 2024, but Sebi is in no hurry

- KHUSHBOO TIWARI

When Ashishkumar Chauhan, chief of the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), 1 hinted at an extended trading session in December 2022, derivative traders found themselves divided. One faction welcomed the decision, seeing it as an opportunity to factor in global news, while the other hesitated, wary of heightened volatility in a segment where 90 per cent of traders face losses.

Six months later, NSE submitted a proposal to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to extend market hours, allowing trading of index derivatives to also continue from 6pm to 9pm as a precursor to an even longer trading session. It had hoped that this three-hour extension would be in place by March 2024, but that seems unlikely.

The Indian exchange isn't alone in pursuing extended trading hours. South Korea's bourse operator has also sought approvals for night-time trading to mitigate the impact of global news.

While the number of India's cash market trading hours is similar to that of the United States, the US boasts various trading venues like NYSE and Nasdaq that conduct evening derivative sessions.

Entities such as the CME Group and the Singapore Exchange (SGX) operate virtually round the clock for key indices.

Moscow Exchange in Russia allows equity derivatives trading from 7 am to midnight, and Eurex Exchange is open until 10 pm.

The Indian market regulator, however, is in no rush to stretch the hours, choosing instead to tread cautiously.

Sebi intends to gather feedback from brokers and investors to evaluate market impacts, infrastructure readiness, and investo erest in an evening session, regulatory sources say. It has sought fresh inputs from broker bodies such as the Association of National Exchanges Members of India (ANMI), Bombay Stock Exchange Brokers' Forum, and the Commodity Participants Association of India, they add.