[South Africa] JSE enhances trading functionality on its Equity market to allow bulk trades

The JSE has introduced a series of Equity market enhancements to allow market participants to buy and sell large blocks of shares (bulk trades) and to trade anonymously within the best bid and offer without interference.

 

The enhancements form part of the JSE’s multi-year Integrated Trading and Clearing (ITaC) project aimed at implementing world-class, multi-product solutions to enhance the exchange’s current trading and clearing functions. 

 

The following enhancements were implemented today: 

•The ability to perform Central Order Book Cross Trades without interference from algorithmic or other traders;

•Enhancements to Hidden Order functionality through Pegged Hidden Orders that link the prices of hidden orders either to the best bid,  best offer or mid-point prices in the central order book;

•An End of Day Volume auction has been introduced that will allow the non-visible uncrossing of large orders after the closing price cross session.

 

“These enhancements form part of our ongoing technological evolution and will allow our clients to execute trades in a high-quality, fair and transparent market and are also as a result of extensive market engagement with our clients around their needs,” says Donna Nemer: Director of Capital Markets at the JSE.

 

Nemer says these enhancements will allow large institutions to execute large trades faster and with greater ease given the reduced number of transactions that clients would need to execute for large trades. “The JSE has a track record of decreasing costs over time while increasing efficiency and service delivery and we hope to continue that through enhancements such as these.”

 

The new enhancements are also in line with the European Union’s revised Markets and Financial Instruments Directive, which comes into effect in 2018 and will further enhance the JSE’s reputation as one of the best regulated stock exchanges in the world.