By Khuleko Siwele and Jennifer Zabasajja, Bloomberg.
Africa’s largest stock exchange is considering introducing 24-hour trading, the JSE’s chief executive officer said.
“We are investigating this avenue and we’ll work with our market to make sure that we deliver what’s right for the South African market, “Leila Fourie said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Tuesday.
Exchanges globally are contemplating widening their trading windows as more individual investors trade on their smartphones. The New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and Cboe Global Markets have applied in recent months to extend their trading hours and the London Stock Exchange is also considering it.
“We are very pleased with the announcements by large exchanges to move to a 24-hour cycle, because it’s net positive and net beneficial for South Africa, largely because we have so many dual-listed counters,” Fourie said. A decision will be taken on extending the JSE’s operating hours in the “medium- to long-term” after consultations, she said.
JSE’s shares gained as much as 1.9% and traded 0.3% higher at R136.73 by 1:42 p.m. in Johannesburg, after the company earlier reported first-half earnings before interest and tax grew 15% from a year earlier.