(Bloomberg) — South Korea’s main stock exchange is extending into evening sessions, breaking with Asia’s trading-hour norms to tap what it hopes will be sustained demand from global investors.
In a step toward its goal of 24-hour trading, Korea Exchange will on Monday enable trading through 8 p.m. for nearly all local stocks, following the regular close at 3:30 p.m. Though the first of its kind among major Asian exchanges, the move tracks a global trend toward around-the-clock markets, led by Nasdaq Inc. and New York Stock Exchange.
After the stock market’s world-beating run this year on AI enthusiasm, Korea Exchange aims to capture broader international participation, particularly during European business hours. Monday’s rollout will offer a test of the bourse’s ability to sustain sufficient liquidity through a longer day and prove that investors actually want the extra time even as interest in Korean equities cools.
“The longer trading window generally means more flexibility for investors, and that makes the market more efficient,” said Young Jae Lee, senior investment manager at Pictet Asset Management in London. “Investors who are more trading-oriented with higher turnover, or hedge fund types may use it more frequently.”
After-hours trading isn’t entirely new in Korea. Alternative trading system Nextrade introduced pre-market and evening sessions in March 2025, covering about 600 stocks, and grabbed nearly a third of activity within a few months of its launch.
Korea Exchange’s latest move takes it a step further, opening about 2,400 Kospi and Kosdaq stocks for evening trades, including short-selling. Exchange-traded funds are excluded for now. The bourse also plans to launch pre-market hours by the end of 2027.
This is “another step in the ongoing evolution of Korea’s capital markets and their accessibility to global investors,” said Edward Kim, head of Korea equities sales at Bank of America.
Few expect an immediate uptick in activity when the new hours open. Whether it can draw sufficient volume remains a key question, especially given the thin liquidity seen after the currency-market extended hours in July.
The Kospi index more than doubled this year through its peak amid an AI frenzy, before a sudden souring of sentiment led to a 22% selloff in July and a sharp contraction in turnover. The benchmark remains up 64% for 2026, still the world’s best-performing major gauge.
Foreign funds will wait and see if there are actually enough buyers and sellers in big stocks like Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. during the evening hours before risking big trades there, said Dave Mazza, chief executive officer of Roundhill Financial.
“Extending the hours does not create liquidity; it redistributes it,” Mazza said, adding that initial interest is likely to be modest.
Nextrade’s experience may be an indication. Its data show retail investors made up more than 80% of its non-regular trading, while erratic price swings and the lack of institutional participation also posed challenges.
How big investors can hedge currency effectively is another issue. Korea’s foreign exchange market technically runs 24 hours, but off-peak trading can be thin, which may make hedging more costly and discourage foreign funds from committing large capital to evening stock trading.
Liquidity may also affect prices. Moving a large block of shares in the evening risks paying far more or selling for less than expected in a thin market, said Sanghyun Park, founder of Clepsydra Capital.
“The biggest risk is just getting caught in low liquidity,” Park said.
Despite lingering issues, market watchers broadly back the extension as it gives investors a quicker way to react to late-breaking news or earnings. The recent listing of SK Hynix’s American depositary receipts was another sign of Korea opening up to foreign investors, but served as a limited channel for mainly chip stock exposure.
“The after-market session promotes market equality by enabling a wider range of investors to react to post-close news, thereby reducing information asymmetry, and enhancing overall market fairness,” said Tony Cheung, execution consultant specialist at Instinet.
–With assistance from Winnie Hsu and Hooyeon Kim.
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