Market Players Skeptical about Effects of TSE Trading Hours Extension

Tokyo, Nov. 5 (Jiji Press)–Market players are skeptical that a 30-minute expansion of the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s trading hours a year ago had a significant effect in boosting trading value. The TSE pushed back its closing time from 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 5, 2024, to improve the market’s resilience in the event of a system failure. A massive system glitch in 2020 left stock trading on the TSE suspended all day. The expansion of the trading hours was aimed at securing trading time as long as possible after an outage is resolved. Market players at the time hoped that the move would help revitalize trading because it made the trading hours 10 pct longer than before. The TSE said that it estimates that the expansion pushed up the daily trading value by 5 pct. But market players are skeptical about the TSE’s claim. “Money seems to have gathered in the busy market, and it is doubtful whether extending the trading hours was effective,” an official at a major brokerage house said. “Only transactions by investors who repeat buying and selling in a day may have increased,” an official at a private think tank said. “It is essential for exchanges to work to increase the value of listed companies because consumers don’t go to shops whose products are unattractive,” said Atsushi Kamio of Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd. The TSE needs to provide continuous support to companies with growth ambitions, Kamio said. The extension of trading hours is “only an additional element,” he said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]