Domestic securities firms are actively expanding their U.S. stock market 'aftermarket' trading hours. This is a move to provide a convenient trading environment in response to the increasing investment demand from overseas investors.
According to the financial investment industry on the 7th, Mirae Asset Securities has decided to extend its U.S. stock aftermarket trading hours from the existing 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Starting from the 12th. The trading hours during periods without daylight saving time will also increase significantly from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Mirae Asset Securities noted, "We expanded the U.S. stock aftermarket trading hours in response to many customer requests and to prepare for 24-hour trading of U.S. stocks in the future." The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq are also pushing for an extension of 24-hour trading.
Hanwha Investment & Securities will also extend its aftermarket trading hours from the current 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. (6 a.m. to 7 a.m. during non-daylight saving time) by one hour each during both daylight saving time and non-daylight saving time to operate until 8 a.m. starting in September.
Kiwoom Securities and Shinhan Investment Securities do not have specific extension plans yet but will respond to industry movements. A representative from Kiwoom Securities said, "Since last year (2023), we have already been operating until 8 a.m. and will review expanding operations based on customer requests in the future."
Toss Securities and Samsung Securities have already extended their U.S. aftermarket trading hours to 8:50 a.m. and 8 a.m., respectively, as of March. Samsung Securities is also considering additional trading hour extensions in the future. Meritz Securities and Daishin Securities reportedly have no plans to extend U.S. stock trading hours.
With weekly trading having been halted for about a year since last August, securities firms are responding to the increasing investor demand by extending aftermarket hours. According to the Korea Securities Depository (KSD), as of the 5th of this year, the transaction amount for overseas investors in U.S. stocks (buying and selling) increased by 37% compared to the same period last year, totaling $35.01 billion (approximately 487 trillion won).
Securities firms that have extended trading hours now operate for a total of about 14 to 15 hours when combining U.S. pre-market and regular hours. If weekly trading services resume in the future, 24-hour trading would essentially become possible.
The marketing competition among securities firms is expected to intensify. An industry official noted, "Beyond simply extending trading hours, providing a differentiated investment environment will become an important competitive factor in the future."