The local stock exchange is set to resume full-day trading sessions by Dec. 6, another signal that corporate Philippines is trying to resume business-as-usual while living with the COVID-19 virus.
Ramon Monzon, president of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), said in a Nov. 22 advisory that trading at the PSE will soon run from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a one-hour break from 12 noon to 1 pm.
“Pre-open” period will start at 9 a.m., during which trading orders can be filed but with no actual matching of buyers and sellers.
“Pre-close” will be at 2:45 pm, during which stock closing prices are set. Orders are likewise deemed final and can no longer be canceled or modified.
Run-off or “trading at last” will be at 2:50 pm, during which remaining orders are matched at a fixed price determined during the pre-closing.
Strong signal
“The return to full day trading to me is a strong signal of the return to normal for the market and eventually the economy,” said Manuel Lisbona, president of PNB Securities.
“It is in line with the return to normalcy as the economy may shift to alert level 1 (the lowest level of pandemic lockdown classification) by December,” said Manny Cruz, chief strategist at Papa Securities.
“This should be positive for the market as it could improve foreign participation,” Cruz said.
But not everyone is excited to see the return of longer trading hours.
Joseph Roxas, president of Eagle Equities, is worried about the timing of the return to full-day trading at a time that the Christmas rush was starting.
COVID-19 infections
“I have always championed longer trading hours,” Roxas said. “But there are too many people going outside of their homes now and everyone will be moving at the same time. It increases the risk of a resurgence in COVID-19 infection.”
COVID-19 infections in the country have gone down to a little over 1,000 per day, down from the peak of almost 17,000 in mid-September, allowing the government to ease lockdown protocols.
“I hope that everyone follows safety procedures. I never stop reminding my people, but how about the others?” Roxas said.
AP Securities vice president Jaycob Yedra said that personally, he wasn’t looking forward to the return of longer trading hours, noting he wasn’t sure it would bring additional trading volume to the stock exchange.
“It’s like working for longer hours with the same result,” Yedra said.
“Even if you add more hours to trading for PSE trading, it doesn’t change the fact that millennials and GenZs have so much investment options these days since everything is online. We can get access to information and investments anywhere in the world anytime without a fuss. It’s not like 10 years ago where access to investments outside the Philippines is only accessible to the elite. Now, with just an app, you can trade in any type of market in the world,” he added. INQ