From March 7, 2011, stock market trading will begin at 9:30 a.m. and end at 4 p.m., with a one-and-a-half-hour lunch break between noon and 1:30 p.m., HK Exchanges Chairman Ronald Arculli said Monday. From March 5, 2012, the lunch break will be shortened by 30 minutes, leaving market participants with a one-hour break between noon and 1 p.m. and an extra half hour for trading.
At present, stock trading in Hong Kong begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m., with a two-hour lunch break between 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. It is the shortest trading session of any major global exchange.
One of the key reasons for the change is to better align Hong Kong's stock trading hours with those of mainland China, where the market opens earlier and the lunch break is shorter. HK Exchanges has said increasing the overlap is crucial because more than 70% of trading volume on the local stock market is in mainland China-related securities and the number of cross-listed products is likely to continue increasing, given the city's role as China's offshore yuan center.
Morning trading on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges starts at 9:30 a.m. and finishes at 11:30 a.m. Afternoon trading starts at 1 p.m. on both exchanges, and ends at 3 p.m. in Shanghai and 2:57 p.m. in Shenzhen.
HK Exchanges also believes longer trading hours will strengthen the Hong Kong stock market's competitiveness in the region.
The move comes as Singapore Exchange Ltd. attempts an US$8.3 billion takeover of Australia's ASX Ltd., reminding Hong Kong's monopoly exchange operator that it faces the prospect of increasing competition despite the city's privileged position as the gateway to China.
Hong Kong brokers, instrumental in shutting down a proposal nearly a decade ago to extend the day to as long as 11 hours, have long opposed lengthening trading hours in the city.
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