Nextrade to Introduce Opening-Price Single-Price Auction in Pre-Market Starting January 2027

Nextrade, an alternative trading system (ATS), will introduce an opening-price single-price auction in its pre-market session starting January 18, 2027. Under this method, orders are collected for a set period immediately after the market opens and trades are executed at a single price. The measure is intended to prevent sharp price fluctuations early in the session.

Yonhap News Agency

According to the financial investment industry on October 20, Nextrade recently notified participating securities firms of a schedule for system changes that includes this measure.

Nextrade's pre-market session currently runs from 8 a.m. to 8:50 a.m. It uses a continuous trading method, under which trades are executed immediately when buy and sell quotes match.

Once the opening-price single-price auction is introduced, buy and sell orders will instead be collected for a set period immediately after the session opens and executed together at a single price. As a result, the first trade in the pre-market session is expected to take place later than the current 8 a.m. start.

For example, if the order-collection period is set at two minutes, orders would be accepted from 8 a.m., with the opening price determined and the first trade executed at 8:02 a.m.

However, the specific operating procedures have not yet been finalized. A Nextrade official said, "We are discussing detailed operating plans with financial authorities, including how long it will take to determine the opening price."

The system change is intended to prevent sharp stock-price fluctuations immediately after the pre-market opens. Earlier this year, SK hynix shares opened at the daily limit-down price in Nextrade's pre-market session twice, about a week apart. Nextrade has since been pursuing improvements to prevent similar cases from recurring.

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