Korea Exchange to launch after-market trading until 8:00 PM

The Korea Exchange (KRX) will launch an after-market trading session starting on the 14th, extending stock trading hours until 8:00 PM. The new session will run from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM, replacing the existing after-hours single-price trading system that operated from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

Unlike the previous system, which executed trades in 10-minute intervals, the after-market will utilize a continuous trading method where buy and sell orders are matched in real-time. This move aims to increase investor opportunities and compete with liquidity provided by alternative trading systems (ATS) like Nextrade.

The after-market will cover most KOSPI and KOSDAQ listed stocks and Depositary Receipts (DR). However, certain items are excluded, such as ETFs, ETNs, stocks under investment warnings, management stocks, and ultra-low liquidity stocks. To protect investors from extreme volatility, market orders will not be permitted; only limit orders, best limit orders, and best offer limit orders will be allowed. Price limits will be set at ±30% of the previous day's closing price.