London Stock Exchange plans to launch round-the-clock trading next year

{"text":[[{"start":8.5,"text":"The London Stock Exchange has unveiled plans to allow round-the-clock trading, in the latest sign that traditional exchanges are trying to win back retail investors whose attention has been captured by 24-hour crypto platforms."}],[{"start":22.4,"text":"The LSE said on Tuesday it would launch a night-time trading venue in the first half of 2027. The new exchange will operate separately from the LSE’s main market, and initially offer access to exchange-traded products such as funds tracking the UK or US stock market. "}],[{"start":40.8,"text":"The move highlights the fierce competition between mainstream exchanges and crypto venues, which have wooed younger investors by allowing them to trade 24/7 on their smartphones. Crypto companies such as Coinbase and Kraken have muscled in on the territory of traditional venues by giving investors round-the-clock access to stock trading. "}],[{"start":61.099999999999994,"text":"The shift to longer trading hours also comes as London faces questions over its competitiveness amid a prolonged listings drought, with the government seeking to urgently revive appetite for IPOs. "}],[{"start":73.44999999999999,"text":"The LSE’s main venue will continue operating under its standard hours of 8am to 4.30pm and the new exchange will operate from 5pm to 7.50am, with a 30-minute pause between 6.30pm and 7pm to apply end-of-day processes. "}],[{"start":89.85,"text":"“London has always been a facilitator of both domestic and global flow and this is very much building on that,” Julia Hoggett, chief executive of the LSE, told the FT. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":101.1,"text":"She added that there was increasing appetite, particularly from retail investors around the world, “to use London given our particular timezone, to gain exposure to not only UK assets but global assets”. Asian retail traders in particular would benefit from trading through the LSE at times that suited them, she said, adding: “Increasingly, retail are used to trading when they wish to trade, not simply the hours [when markets] are open.”"}],[{"start":126,"text":"The move echoes a similar push by traditional trading venues in the US. Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange and Cboe Global Markets have either launched or are planning to launch extended trading hours, subject to approval from US regulators. "}],[{"start":142,"text":"“We are seeing huge demand from our retail customers to get access to 24/5 soon to be 24/7 access to markets,” said Elad Lavi, vice-president development strategy at retail brokerage eToro, adding: “Crypto opened the mind of retail investors . . . they want to react to breaking news and they want to react immediately.” "}],[{"start":162.1,"text":"While retail trading is driving the move towards longer trading hours, institutional investors have generally been more ambivalent about round-the-clock trading. "}],[{"start":171.5,"text":"The World Federation of Exchanges said last year that “in particular, Apac retail investors are interested in being more active on US markets”, but that overseas institutional investors wanted extended access “to a lesser extent”. “Extended trading is not appropriate or desirable in all contexts,” the WFE added."}],[{"start":192.8,"text":"The Federation of European Securities Exchanges said that “it remains to be seen whether such models are sustainable or beneficial in the long term”."}],[{"start":201.45000000000002,"text":"Hoggett said there was a “large retail component of this” and “we’re increasingly seeing institutional demand to interact with retail flow”, adding that she expected institutional demand to increase over time. "}],[{"start":215.65,"text":"The LSE aimed to allow extended trading of the more than 2,600 exchange-traded products that were listed on its exchange, said Simon McQuoid-Mason, head of new product and market structure and equities at the exchange. Starting with ETPs was easier than stocks, because individual companies would have to grapple with various complexities around timing and regulations that the LSE was working through, Hoggett said. "}],[{"start":243.6,"text":"McQuoid-Mason said that agentic trading would also be built into the new exchange. “Certain types of players are pushing into the adoption of agentic AI tools as it relates to portfolio assessment, market assessment, portfolio repositioning and trading. It’s right to build in this capability because there is an evolution towards it,” he said. "}],[{"start":263.15,"text":"The FT reported last year that the LSE was exploring launching 24-hour trading. "}],[{"start":275.4,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1784609224_2297.mp3"}