What time does the stock exchange open - A detailed guide for Vietnamese investors

When entering the Vietnamese stock market, one of the first questions that any trader needs to explore is: what time does the stock exchange open? This is not trivial information, because understanding the operating hours of stock exchanges will directly impact your trading strategy and profit-making potential.

Operating Hours of the Three Vietnamese Stock Exchanges

In Vietnam, the stock market system includes three exchanges: HOSE, HNX, and Upcom. All three operate from Monday to Friday, with official trading hours starting at 9:00 AM and ending at 3:00 PM (local time GMT +7).

On Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays, all stock exchanges pause their activities. On average, Vietnamese stock exchanges operate about 250 days per year. This means that if you place orders outside these hours, your orders will be recorded but not matched until the next trading session.

Detailed Trading Hours of Each Exchange

HOSE - Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange

HOSE has the most complex trading structure with multiple sessions throughout the day:

Regular Opening Session (9:00 - 9:15): This is the ATO matching session, where orders from the previous day and the morning are matched at the opening price.

Continuous Morning Trading (9:15 - 11:30): During this period, you can use LO, MP, MOK, MAK, MTL order types to buy and sell stocks. This phase features high liquidity and significant price volatility.

Lunch Break (11:30 - 13:00): The market temporarily halts, with no transactions.

Continuous Afternoon Trading (13:00 - 14:30): Trading continues with the same order types as the morning session.

Closing Session (14:30 - 14:45): This is the ATC matching session, where remaining orders are matched at the closing price.

After-Hours Trading (14:45 - 15:00): The final session for negotiated orders.

Additionally, bonds on HOSE have separate trading hours from 9:00 - 11:30 and 13:00 - 15:00.

HNX - Hanoi Stock Exchange

HNX has a similar structure to HOSE but with some differences:

HNX does not have a regular opening matching session (ATO) but directly starts continuous trading from 9:00. However, HNX also offers after-hours trading from 14:45 to 15:00 using PLO orders (Post-matching Order).

Specific hours: continuous matching from 9:00 - 11:30, lunch break 11:30 - 13:00, trading resumes 13:00 - 14:30, regular matching 14:30 - 14:45, then after-hours trading 14:45 - 15:00.

Upcom - Unlisted Public Company Stock Exchange

Upcom has the simplest structure among the three. This exchange does not have any regular matching sessions (no ATO or ATC).

Instead, Upcom only has continuous matching from 9:00 - 11:30 in the morning, a lunch break from 11:30 - 13:00, and continues trading from 13:00 - 15:00 in the afternoon. Orders on Upcom are mainly LO (Limit Order).

Derivatives Market - Opens Earlier

The derivatives market in Vietnam has a unique feature: it opens 15 minutes earlier than the underlying securities market, starting at 8:45 AM. Currently, this market includes only two products: VN30 Futures Index and 5-year Government Bond Futures.

The derivatives trading sessions are divided into two: from 8:45 - 11:30 (Session I) and 13:00 - 14:45 (Session II), with a lunch break from 11:30 - 13:00.

Settlement Mechanism - An Important Factor When Planning Trades

Knowing what time the stock exchange opens is not enough. You also need to understand the settlement times, as they affect your cash flow.

Vietnamese stock market applies T+0, T+1, and T+2 settlement systems:

• T+0: Funds are settled on the same successful trading day.
• T+1: Funds are settled one day after the successful trading day.
• T+2: Funds are settled two days after the successful trading day.

Note that T+1 and T+2 do not include holidays, Saturdays, or Sundays.

For bonds, settlement time is T+1. For stocks, closed-end fund certificates, and ETF certificates, settlement is T+2.

Vietnam Stock Market - Scale and Significance

After more than 20 years of development, the Vietnamese underlying stock market has grown from just 2 initial stocks to over 1,600 listed companies with a total market capitalization of nearly 4 quadrillion VND (equivalent to 171 billion USD).

Although the derivatives market is still young (only 3 years old), it has shown impressive growth with trading volume increasing 3.3 times compared to the previous year, becoming an effective tool for investment and risk management.

Practical Tips for Investors

To trade effectively in the Vietnamese stock market, you should pay attention to:

Regarding Time: Although the time difference between exchanges is only about 15 minutes, each time slot has different order types and priority rules. If you are a new trader, LO (Limit Order) is the safest choice that can be used continuously during trading hours.

Regarding Cash Flow: Avoid being stuck with cash flow issues. Always consider settlement times for each asset, especially when trading near the end of the week.

Regarding Market Events: When stock exchanges pause (during lunch breaks or outside trading hours), many events can impact prices, causing strong volatility when the market reopens.

Understanding operating hours, trading structures, and settlement mechanisms will help you optimize your trading strategies and manage risks more effectively in the Vietnamese stock market.