(LiveMint)
India’s market regulator on Friday widened the window for trading in a move that will allow stock exchanges to offer Indian equity derivatives for nearly 14 hours a day. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said it had decided to permit stock exchanges to set their trading hours for equity derivatives from 9am (0330 GMT) to 11:55pm.
Currently, Sebi allows trading in equity derivatives between 9am (0330 GMT) and 5pm. Exchanges, however, trade only till 3:30pm. Stock exchanges in India had been keen to extend the trading hours for equity derivatives to allow Indian traders hedge any event risk that arises late at night. “Globally, the derivative exchanges are already following the extended trading hours,” said Ashishkumar Chauhan, chief executive of BSE, Asia’s oldest exchange. “The introduction of the extended hours is a positive development and will bring Indian market in line with international market and Indian commodity derivative markets,” he said.
