In a bid to enhance work-life balance, Swedish traders are advocating for Nasdaq to reduce its trading hours, as reported by Bloomberg. This move, aimed at aligning with global trends and addressing the challenges of balancing family life with demanding equity trading careers, has garnered significant attention.
Elisabeth Beskow, the head of Norway's DNB Bank ASA in Sweden, highlighted the current difficulties faced by traders, especially women with children, in maintaining a reasonable balance between family life and a career in equities. She expressed that the prevailing trading hours make this balance almost unattainable.
Presently, Nasdaq Sweden operates from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., totaling eight and a half hours, mirroring the schedule of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Similarly, the London Stock Exchange operates for eight and a half hours, albeit from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In contrast, major exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq New York have shorter trading durations of six and a half hours. The JPX exchange, home to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, trades for five hours, and the Shanghai Stock Exchange operates for only four hours.
The issue extends beyond the official trading hours. Per Flostrand, head of equity sales at ABG Sundal Collier, a Norway-based investment bank, pointed out that the workday for traders stretches before and after the market hours, leading to considerably longer working hours. He noted that staff on their European trading desk typically work from 7:25 a.m. to 5:40 p.m.
In 2019, the Association for Financial Markets in Europe and the Investment Association proposed a 90-minute reduction in European stock exchange trading hours.
This recommendation was based on the belief that shorter hours would lead to more efficient markets, as the first hour typically sees minimal liquidity and the final hour accounts for a significant portion of daily trading volume. The associations also emphasized the adverse impact of long hours on traders' well-being and the challenges they pose in attracting individuals with familial and caregiving responsibilities to the industry.
Beskow noted an unprecedented consensus among industry professionals in favor of reduced hours over the past year.
Fredrik Ekstrom, the head of Nasdaq Stockholm, expressed openness to the idea of reducing trading hours in Sweden, provided it is implemented in a coordinated manner across Europe. However, he acknowledged that an earlier initiative in 2020 was halted due to opposition from other exchanges, coupled with concerns that shortened hours might lead to reduced business.
