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SEBI to allow after-market orders during first minutes of closing auction
Starting in September, after-market orders will be accepted from 3:15 pm to 3:20 pm in India’s 20-minute closing auction session, aiming to improve liquidity and price discovery.
India’s market regulator, SEBI, is in discussions with brokers to update systems so that after-market orders can be placed during the initial minutes of the closing auction session, according to LiveMint Markets.
The plan is to begin accepting aftermarket orders between 3:15 pm and 3:20 pm starting in September, during the first five minutes of the 20-minute closing auction session that runs from 3:15 pm to 3:35 pm. LiveMint Markets cited HDFC Securities CEO Dhiraj Relli saying the change is expected to improve price discovery and liquidity in the closing auction session.
LiveMint Markets also reports that the first five minutes are currently used for calculating the reference price and transitioning to the auction system, and that the move is intended to address concerns tied to low liquidity in the auction window, which have led to unusual price swings. SEBI has ruled out abandoning the framework despite market pushback, with Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey saying SEBI will not simply shut the closing auction down.
The closing auction framework, first introduced via a January 2026 circular and operating since 3 August, pools buy and sell orders during the end-of-day window and matches them at an equilibrium closing price, with no trades executed during the auction itself. LiveMint Markets notes the session covers 208 derivative-traded stocks and replaced the longstanding VWAP system for determining closing prices.