The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) board of directors announced today that it has decided to shorten the trading day on Israel's stock exchange.
The pre-opening stage will begin at 9:00 am instead of 8:30 am, and trading will end at 4:00 pm.
Clearing services will continue until 6:30 in the evening.
Shorter trading days in March and April, which resulted from a labor dispute, showed that trading volume did not fall despite the shorter hours. As a result TASE CEO Ester Levanon appointed a committee to examine the issue.
Levanon said, "A review by the committee showed that most stock exchange members support a shorter day, and see it resulting in lower costs and employee satisfaction. Exchange members do not expect a drop in trading volume, nor of foreign investor activity."
The chairman of the board at the TASE is Saul Bronfeld.
The decision must be approved by the Israel Securities Authority.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 4, 2008
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