IN A rare instance of agreement, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay

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Stock Exchange (BSE) said, based on market feedback, they have jointly decided that the revision of market opening to 9 am shall be effective from January 4.

“In the interim, the current market open timing of 9.55 am shall continue,” they said in a joint statement. The announcement ca-me a day after both NSE and BSE said that they would keep the market op-en from 9 am to 3.30 pm.

NSE on Wednesday said its decision to open earlier was taken after ‘extensive consultations with market participants and based on consensus.’ However, the deferment points to the lack of consensus amongst stakeholders on the issue. The market regulator is learnt to have convened a meeting with the top brass of NSE and BSE on this issue, persons familiar with the matter said.

Meanwhile, officials at two major stockbrokers’ associations said they would convene a meeting of their members to discuss the issue. “It was a one-sided decision by the exchanges without taking the brokers into confidence. There is no justification for increasing the market timing,” said Bhanubhai Fozdar, chairman of BSE Brokers Forum.

“We will discuss the issue and represent our case to the stock exchanges,” he said. EMC Palaniappan, president of Association of National Exchanges Members of India (Anmi) said, “We have conveyed to the exchanges that the decision to extend the market timings was too sudden and brokers need time to prepare themselves.”

Sebi had on October 23 allowed stock exchanges to extend business hours from 9 am to 5 pm. Even large brokers, who are open to the idea of extension of market hours, said they were in favour of building a consensus among market participants on the issue. “This postponement gives more time for public debate to happen on the subject,” said Raamdeo Agr-awal, director and co-fou-nder, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

“If the market will open from 9 am in the morning, it will give investors more time to react to other Asian markets,” said Shailesh Shah, a retail investor from Vadodara.