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Table of Contents
Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX)
HKEX is the primary stock exchange in Hong Kong.
Currency: Hong Kong Dollar (HKD)
Trading Summary
Information on the HKEX trading infrastructure can be found on the Securities Trading Infrastructure page.
Order Types
- Limit Buy/Sell→ShortSell (Day)
- Market Buy/Sell→ShortSell (Day)
Basic Market Rules
- Lot Size: set at the security level, with lot sizes listed on the List of Securities page.
- Tick Size: varies with price as defined in the Second Schedule of the Rules of the Exchange.
| Price Range | Tick Size |
|---|---|
| From 0.01 to 0.25 | 0.001 |
| Over 0.25 to 0.50 | 0.005 |
| Over 0.50 to 10.00 | 0.010 |
| Over 10.00 to 20.00 | 0.020 |
| Over 20.00 to 100.00 | 0.050 |
| Over 100.00 to 200.00 | 0.100 |
| Over 200.00 to 500.00 | 0.200 |
| Over 500.00 to 1,000.00 | 0.500 |
| Over 1,000.00 to 2,000.00 | 1.000 |
| Over 2,000.00 to 5,000.00 | 2.000 |
| Over 5,000.00 to 9,995.00 | 5.000 |
- Short Sale Rules: naked short selling is prohibited and short sell orders must be properly marked. For more information, see the Regulated Short Selling page.
- Circuit Breakers: HKEX limits order entry to prices +/- 25 spreads from the nominal price, and a maximum order size of 3000 round lots. For addition details on the mechanisms monitoring price movements, see the Frequently Asked Questions page.
Auction Mechanisms
Open
The pre-opening session is as follows:
| Period | Time |
|---|---|
| Order Input Period | 09:00:00 - 09:15:00 |
| Pre-Order Matching Period | 09:15:00 - 09:20:00 |
| Order Matching Period | 09:20:00 - 09:28:00 |
| Blocking Period | 09:28:00 - 09:30:00 |
Order Input Period
During the order input period, auction orders may be input into the system, and may be amended or cancelled. An auction order that is amended in connection with a reduction in size shall not affect the time priority of the original auction order. An auction order that is amended in connection with a specified price or an increase in size will result in the loss of time priority of the original auction order.
Pre-Order Matching Period
During the pre-order matching period, only at-auction orders may be input into the system but no order shall be amended or cancelled.
Order Matching Period
During the order matching period, automatic order matching of the auction orders shall be conducted and no order shall be input into the system, amended, or cancelled.
Blocking Period
During the blocking period, the system shall be static for transition from the pre-opening session to the continuous trading session, and no order shall be input into the system, amended, or cancelled.
Close
The Closing Auction Session (CAS) is applicable to eligible securities and consists of four periods: the Reference Price fixing period, order input period, no-cancellation period, and random closing period.
During the Reference Price fixing period, a Reference Price, which sets the allowable upper and lower price limits of the closing auction session (±5 per cent from the Reference Price), is calculated for each security that will have a Closing Auction Session.
During the order input period, at-auction orders and at-auction limit orders within the ±5 per cent price limit can be entered, amended or cancelled.
During the no-cancellation period, prices of new at-auction limit orders must be between the lowest ask and highest bid of the order book, and no orders can be amended or cancelled.
During the random closing period, the order rules from the no-cancellation period apply and the market closes randomly within two minutes. After the random closing period, orders for all CAS securities are matched at the final IEP. In cases where final IEP cannot be established during the CAS, the Reference Price will be treated as the final IEP for order matching and will become the closing price of the CAS security. Order matching is based on order type, price and then time priority (at-auction orders carry a higher matching priority).
Auction Periods
1. Continuous Trading (09:30 - 16:00)
- Regular matching rules
- Orders may be entered, amended, or cancelled
2. Closing Auction Session (16:00:00 - 16:05:45)
- Only orders on eligible securities may be sent
3. Closing Print (random between 16:08:00 and 16:10:00)
- Only orders on eligible securities may apply
Order Types: Limit Order with TIF set to DAY and Market Order with TIF set to DAY.
For more information on the auction mechanisms on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, see the Trading Mechanism and the Volatility Control Mechanism (VCM) and Closing Auction Session (CAS) pages.