The market opens at 10:00am, and normal trading occurs until 4pm. From 4.01pm to 4.10pm, the market goes into a pre-open phase where investors may continue to enter orders into the market. The ‘Closing Single Price Auction’ (CSPA), determines the closing price of stocks each trading day and this occurs between 4.10pm and 4.11pm on any trading day.
Clients may submit ‘at limit’ orders online with brokers at any time. However brokers only enter orders into the market between 7am and 10am, on any trading day in preparation for the market open.
Brokers are also obligated to report overseas trades (e.g. News Corporation NWS shares) that have been executed overnight, before 9:45am on a trading day. Trades resulting from options exercise also have to be reported before 10am market open on a trading day.
The ASX allows brokers to trade after hours (4.11pm to 5.00pm) but only under the following 5 circumstances. After hours trading is permitted only if the trade is:
– To rectify an error;
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– To complete an order received and worked prior to the CSPA;
– A genuine hedge related transaction;
– To complete an order that narrowly missed execution in the CSPA;
– A put through – a crossing where shares are transferred.
After 5pm, the market moves into the ‘after hours adjust’ phase where brokers can tidy up their orders and continue to report trades up until 7pm or before 9.45am the following day.
By Matt Comyn, general manager, CommSec
Disclaimers: The views expressed in this article are those of Matt Comyn, a representative of Commonwealth Securities Limited (CommSec) ABN 60 067 254 399 AFSL 238814 and is not intended as general advice.
