RBI to set up internal group to review various market timings

New Delhi, August 2: As Reserve Bank of India hiked repo rate to 6.50 % in its third bi-monthly monetary policy review of 2018-19, the apex bank looks at extending market timings for segments such as currency future and over the counter foreign exchange.

Stating the developmental and regulatory policies, RBI said it has received requests for extensions from many market participants and will set up an internal group to look into this. The group will look into extending timings of markets under RBI’s purview and submit its report by October.

Viral Acharya, deputy governor, RBI said, “With the increased global integration of domestic markets, it is being discussed that market timings may be reviewed in order to facilitate better and quicker pricing of global developments.” Any change in timings has to be in sync with clearing and settlement arrangements and their efficiency.

RBI also said that “while the decision of market timings is best left to market participants and exchanges or trading platforms, it is necessary that timings across products and funding markets complement each other and avoid unanticipated frictions. It is, therefore, proposed, to set up an internal group to comprehensively review the timings of various markets and the necessary payment infrastructure for supporting the recommended revisions to market timings.”

Earlier in May, the markets regulator Sebi had allowed exchanges to extend the trading time in equity derivatives contracts by more than eight hours till almost midnight from October 1.

"It has been decided to permit stock exchanges to set their trading hours in the equity derivatives segment between 9:00 am and 11:55 pm," Sebi had said