KRX After-Hours Market Sees 1.8 Trillion Won Traded on First Day, Volume Split Evenly with NXT

Trading Value Reaches 1.8177 Trillion Won from 4 to 8 p.m.

Equivalent to 8% of Regular Market’s Trading Value

Most Listed Stocks Now Available for Trading

Competition with Existing NXT Heats Up

The Korea Exchange (KRX) marked the first day of its after-hours stock trading session, which allows trading after regular work hours, with transactions totaling approximately 1.8 trillion won. Competition in the market has intensified, as the amount traded was split nearly evenly with Nextrade (NXT), the alternative trading system (ATS) that has been operating an after-hours market already.

According to the KRX Information Data System and other sources, the after-hours market operated from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on September 14. During this time, the trading volume reached 72.24 million shares, with a transaction amount of 1.8177 trillion won. This accounts for 7.04% and 8.03% of the main market’s figures—950 million shares and 25.8082 trillion won, respectively.

Yonhap News Agency

By market segment, 22.18 million shares worth 1.3252 trillion won were traded in KOSPI-listed stocks, while KOSDAQ recorded 50.06 million shares and 492.5 billion won in trade.

During the same time period, the NXT after-hours market saw transactions totaling 12.17 million shares, with a trading value of 1.7896 trillion won. Beginning today, investor orders have been distributed between KRX and NXT through the Smart Order Routing (SOR) system, leading the two marketplaces to essentially split after-hours volume.

SOR automatically sends an order to the market that offers the best conditions—considering price, fees, costs, order size, and the likelihood of execution—when an investor does not specify an exchange. On this day, after-hours trading on the KRX accounted for 4.84% of the total trading value in the domestic stock market, while NXT accounted for 4.76%.

With the participation of KRX, the number of stocks available for after-hours trading has increased. Until now, NXT limited its list to about 600 stocks, adhering to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, which prohibits the daily average trading volume of an ATS from exceeding 15% of the KRX’s. On KRX, however, nearly all listed stocks can be traded, expanding investors’ choices.

Out of the approximately 50 securities member firms registered with KRX, about 40, including foreign securities firms, have expressed their intention to participate in the after-hours market, suggesting upcoming growth in transaction volume. Investors can also benefit by adjusting their investment strategies based on information released after the close of regular trading, and overseas investors can reduce the limitations caused by time differences.

Song Gimyeong, Deputy President of the Korea Exchange, stated, “We have built the minimal infrastructure base necessary for our capital market to compete with overseas markets.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.