HKEX is the primary stock exchange in Hong Kong.
Currency: Hong Kong Dollar (HKD)
Order Types
-
Limit Buy/Sell→ShortSell (Day)
-
Market Buy/Sell→ShortSell (Day)
Basic Market Rules
-
Lot Size: set at the security level.
-
Tick Size: varies with price:
| 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, only at-auction orders and at-auction limit orders are accepted. Orders are accumulated and updated in OTP-C continuously and may be modified or cancelled. Input of pre-open trades is allowed during this period.
Pre-Order Matching Period
During the pre-order matching period, only at-auction orders are accepted, and modification or cancellation of orders in OTP-C will not take place. It can avoid significant changes in the Indicative Equilibrium Price (IEP) and adjust the IEP to a fair market price. Input of pre-open trades is allowed during this period.
Order Matching Period
During the order matching period, no input, modification, and cancellation of orders are allowed. Orders will be matched in order type (at-auction order first), price, and time priority at the final IEP. No input of pre-open trades is accepted during this period.
Blocking Period
During the blocking period, no orders and no trade activities are allowed. It is a break between the Pre-opening Session and the Morning Trading Session.
The information of the trades concluded by OTP-C during the order matching period will be disseminated to Exchange Participants and information vendors.
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. Pre-Opening Session (09:00-09:30)
In order to prevent potential wash trades from occurring on the market, We will have some restrictions on order entry during this session, as follows:
-
Limit orders which would not lock/cross existing orders on our platform will be accepted.
-
Limit orders which would lock/cross existing orders on our platform will be rejected with the error “Possible wash trade at opening”.
-
All market orders will be rejected.
2. Continuous Trading (09:30 – 16:00)
-
Regular matching rules
-
Orders may be entered, amended, or cancelled
3. Closing Auction Session (16:00:00 – 16:05:45)
-
Only orders on eligible securities may be sent
-
A list of eligible securities can be found on the Closing Auction Session (CAS) Securities page
4. 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) Securities pages.
