Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued a Circular propounding the SOP for handling of Stock Exchange Outage and extension of trading hours. The Circular was issued on 9th January, 2023.
The Circular clarifies that if continuous trading on stock exchanges is disrupted, it is of paramount importance that all market participants including other MIIs, are promptly informed about the outage. Additionally, the trading hours are should also be extended, if required, so as to provide opportunity for smooth closure of intraday positions. The disruptions contemplated by this circular may be due to technical reasons or otherwise.
According to the SOP the stock exchanges that suffered the outage must send an intimation thereof to:
- Market Participants / Trading Members / Other MIIs
These category of stakeholder must be informed within 15 minutes from the occurance of the outrage through broadcast message and publishing it on its website
- SEBI
SEBI must be informed immediately after the outage through an email to techglitch@sebi.gov.in
Moreover. the affected stock exchange must update about the ongoing outage in the time intervals of 45 minutes from the initial intimation, until normalcy to operations is restored. Extension of trading hours, if applicable, shall be mentioned in the intimation by the affected stock exchange.
The Circular sets forth the detailed procedure to be followed for extension of trading hours in case of outage.
