Nepse allows round-the-clock order placement as trading rules revised

The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) will now allow investors to place buy and sell orders at any time, following a revision of securities trading regulations. Until now, orders could only be placed during market hours, from 11am to 3pm. Under the amended Securities Trading Operation Regulations, 2018, investors will be able to place orders outside trading hours, though execution will still take place only when the market is open. The changes were forwarded by Nepse after updating the framework, and later approved with revisions by the Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon). However, the new system is yet to be implemented as Nepse has not issued the required operational directive. The revised rules also reshape market safeguards. In the first two hours of trading (11am to 1pm), a five percent rise or fall will trigger a 15-minute halt. In the final session (1pm to 3pm), an 8 percent swing will either halt trading or close the market for the day. In the pre-open session, the allowable price movement has been widened to five percent from two percent. During regular trading, the order price band has been relaxed to three percent from two percent. Nepse said the changes will come into effect only after its board issues formal implementation instructions. Yagya BanjadeBanjade covers government finance, banking, capital markets, and the economy for Kantipur Daily.