Recently there is talk again that the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) plans to extend the trading hours. Stock trading in the Philippines is one of the shortest in the world, with trading in the PSE lasting only for two and a half hours, from 9:30 am until 12 noon.
Members of the PSE board are reportedly mulling the approval of this trading extension proposal. According to an Inquirer report, “in a meeting on Wednesday, members of the board arrived at a consensus to reactivate the policy on afternoon trading to ‘align’ local markets with the rest of the world.”
The current proposal is to extend trading for 2 more hours, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. There will be a trading break after the current closing time at noon.
The same proposal was made in 2009 but was scrapped when stock markets around the world declined due to the economic recession.
In 2002, the PSE already implemented additional trading hours, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. but the expected inflows of investment did not materialize. Less than a year after its pilot implementation, the PSE reverted to the 2 1/2 hour-trading schedule.
Is the Philippines ready for longer trading hours?
We are willing to give it a try but if the costs of rolling out this plan would outweigh the expected benefits, then probably it’s time to go back to the drawing board. Inputs from stockbrokers and the stock traders themselves must be considered.
What do you think? Are you ok with this proposal? Post a comment below.
