Stock markets to open 1 hour late on college entrance exam day

Korea Exchange and Nextrade said Thursday that securities market trading hours will be pushed back by one hour on Nov. 19, the day of the College Scholastic Ability Test. The Kospi, Kosdaq and Konex regular markets will open at 10 a.m. and close at 4:30 p.m. — one hour later than usual for both the open and the close.

According to Korea Exchange, regular market trading in shares, ETFs and exchange-traded notes on Nov. 19 will shift from the usual 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m. to 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Pre-market closing-price sessions will run from 9:30 a.m. to 9:40 a.m., while block and basket trades will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. — each delayed by one hour.

After-hours closing-price trading will run from 4:40 p.m. to 5 p.m. The after-market session will begin at 5 p.m. and close as usual at 8 p.m. Trading hours for subscription warrants, equity-linked warrants and bonds — including government bonds and repurchase agreements — will follow the same schedule as the regular market.

The derivatives market will open at 9:45 a.m. KOSPI 200 futures and options, Kosdaq 150 futures and options, and government bond futures will trade from 9:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monetary and gold products — including US dollar futures, yen futures, euro futures, yuan futures and gold futures — will open one hour late but close at the usual time of 3:45 p.m.

US dollar flex futures will run from 9:55 a.m. to 3:25 p.m. Pork belly futures will keep their regular hours. The night session will open one hour later at 7 p.m., with the closing time unchanged at 6 a.m. the following day.

Among commodity markets, the gold market will open at 10 a.m. and close at 3:30 p.m. The oil and emissions markets will keep their regular hours. The KRX Startup Market, a platform for trading shares in unlisted startups, will operate from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., in line with the regular securities market.

Alternative exchange Nextrade will not hold its pre-market session. Its main market will run from 10 a.m. and 30 seconds to 4:20 p.m., compared with the usual 9 a.m. and 30 seconds to 3:20 p.m.

The closing-price market will be open from 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. The after-market session will begin at 4:40 p.m. and close at 8 p.m. Block and basket trading will start two hours later than usual, at 10 a.m. and 30 seconds, with the closing time unchanged at 8 p.m.

Settlement times will also be adjusted. Same-day settlement markets — the general bond market and the repurchase agreement market — will shift to 4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m., a one-hour delay. Regular and next-day settlement markets, including the stock market, the government bond distribution market and the on-exchange derivatives market, will operate from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The deadline for over-the-counter derivatives clearing will be pushed back 30 minutes to 5:30 p.m., with trade confirmation services running from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

As in previous years, government office hours will be adjusted on exam day and subway services will be increased. This year's CSAT will be held Nov. 19 from 8:40 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. (for standard test-takers) at 1,312 test sites across 85 examination districts nationwide. A total of 551,864 candidates are registered to sit the exam, down 2,310 from the previous year. The government plans to ease traffic congestion on the morning of the exam and reduce noise around test sites during exam hours to help students test without disruption.