Singapore traders to get their first lunch break in six years

Imagine not having a lunch break for six and a half  years. For stock brokers in Singapore, that’s about to end.

Starting this week, some 3,000 of them will be able to step out for an hour from noon for a midday trading intermission, taking a break at the same time as their counterparts in Hong Kong, though for a shorter period than the 90 minutes enjoyed by traders in Malaysia, the Philippines and mainland China. The region’s longest lunch is the two-hour pause in Thailand.

The city’s benchmark Straits Times Index is on pace for its best showing in five years.