SEBI Declines NSE's Plea For Trading Hours Extension

SEBI's decision came as a response to the NSE's request to gradually extend trading hours in the equity derivatives segment

Securities and Exchange Board of India

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has declined a proposal from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) to extend trading hours in the equity derivatives segment. The capital market regulator stated that there was insufficient feedback from the stock broker community, which was the reason for the refusal of NSE’s request.

MD and CEO of NSE, Ashishkumar Chauhan, said in a post-earnings analysts call, "Currently, there is no plan to extend the timings as Sebi has returned our application as the stock brokers have not given the feedback that Sebi wanted. So, as of now, the extended time frame (plan) is shelved.”

SEBI's decision came as a response to the NSE's request to gradually extend trading hours in the equity derivatives segment. The objective was to mitigate the overnight risk stemming from global information flow.

Previously, in September, Sriram Krishnan, Chief Business Development Officer of NSE, told the news agency PTI that the exchange was considering a session from 6 pm to 9 pm following a break after the regular session, which typically runs from 9.15 am to 3.30 pm. Considering the feedback received, a phased extension of market timings until 11.55 pm was suggested, mirroring the structure of commodity derivatives. Initially, the proposal outlined making index derivatives available in phase 1, with single stock options and other instruments to follow subsequently.

In 2018, SEBI granted stock exchanges the authority to establish trading hours for the equity derivatives segment from 9 am to 11.50 pm. This adjustment paralleled the trading hours for the commodity derivatives segment, which currently operates from 10 am to 11.55 pm.

The adjustment in trading hours was implemented as part of SEBI's initiatives to facilitate the amalgamation of stocks and commodities trading on a single exchange. Regarding the status of NSE's IPO, Chauhan remarked that the situation remains unchanged. He previously mentioned that NSE is awaiting SEBI's approval to initiate the initial public offering process. However, NSE's plans for listing have been delayed due to a SEBI investigation into the exchange and certain key officials.