The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and Market for Alternative Investment (MAI) are extending their daily trading hours from March 25, opening the afternoon session 30 minutes earlier, allowing trade on the two bourses for five hours per day.
The change better aligns the SET's trading hours with other regional markets and offers investors more trading opportunities, the bourse said in a statement.
After the adjustment, the SET and MAI offer a pre-open afternoon session from 1.30-2pm and an afternoon session from 2-4.30pm. Morning trading hours remain unchanged, running from 10am-12.30pm, with a half-hour pre-open session from 9.30-10am.
The Thailand Futures Exchange Plc (TFEX) is also extending its afternoon trading hours for equity futures and options, currency futures and interest rate futures, starting the session 30 minutes earlier.
Trading hours for interest rate futures on TFEX are 1.45-4.00pm in the afternoon session. For equity futures and currency futures, the session is from 1.45-4.55pm.
The adjustment follows instructions from Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin for the bourse to study the benefits and disadvantages of extending operating hours, aiming to draw more trading from foreign investors.
Analysts offered mixed views about the change. Pawarisa Lertkijkhunanont, deputy head of research at Asia Plus Securities (ASPS), said the brokerage is hopeful the extended trading hours can raise the Thai exchange's daily turnover to 50 billion baht, though there are limited downside risks to the SET.
According to ASPS, Thailand was the only Asian market to report foreign net selling so far this year, totalling US$881 million (about 31.6 billion baht), while the SET index has dipped 3.4% this year to date.
Suwat Wattanapornprom, an analyst with Krungsri Capital Securities, said he expects a limited impact from the extension of trading hours unless the fundamentals of the Thai stock market change.
"The recent slump of the SET index was mainly caused by disappointing operating results from listed companies," said Mr Suwat. "If stocks on the Thai market are not attractive, we cannot attract more foreign investors even with extended trading hours."