Trading hours for stock-index futures to be cut

China will cut trading hours for stock-index futures contracts next year as authorities step up measures to limit volatility in the nation's financial markets after a $5-trillion rout. Trading in the morning session will start 10 minutes later at 9:25 am from January, in line with the cash market, while the afternoon session will end at 3 pm, 15 minutes earlier, the China Financial Futures Exchange said in a statement on Friday.

The change will affect futures contracts linked to the CSI 300 Index, CSI Smallcap 500 Index and the Shanghai Stock Exchange 50 A-Share Index. "It will curb volatility," said Wu Kan, a fund manager at JK Life Insurance Co in Shanghai. "It can prevent wild movements on the futures from affecting the spot market because of the time advantage."