MSEI extends trade time in equities to 5 pm

Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India (MSEI) has decided to extend the trading hours of its equity segment till 5 pm, from Friday. 

The exchange has negligible volumes in the segment and the move seems to be aimed at boosting this. It is to be seen if national exchanges NSE and BSE follow. "If brokers want it, NSE also would be happy to extend trading hours. We are fully prepared. So far feedback, however, the feedback hasn't been positive," said a source at NSE. 

Via a circular in October 2009, the Securities and Exchange Board of India permitted bourses to set the trading hours in the equity and derivatives segments between 9 am and 5 pm. At the time, NSE and BSE had advanced the start time to 9 am but did not extend the closing time of 3.30 pm, due to resistance from brokers. Till then, trading used to begin at 9:55 am.

MSEI aims to boost its volumes. The bourse has two indices, SX40 and SXBank, and is working on developing three new ones on which its derivatives contracts will be based. It plans to soon introduce two new currency products. One will be aimed at helping banks hedge their portfolio against currency fluctuations in the available-for-sale category. This is a debt security, purchased with the intent of selling before maturity or selling prior to a lengthy time period in the event the security does not have a maturity.

MSEI's net loss for the nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 24 crore, compared to Rs 38 crore in the same period a year before. In terms of daily average turnover, its market share was 3.5 per cent in the currency derivatives segment for the financial year ended March 2017, down from 4.2 per cent the previous year.