LSE enhances international book

The London Stock Exchange has made several changes to its international order book to bring it in line with its main SETS market.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has made several changes to its international order book (IOB) to bring it in line with its main SETS market.

Changes include extended standardised opening hours and reduced ticks sizes as well as moving to a shorter settlement cycle.

LSE said the growing popularity of the IOB, which has raised more than US$110 billiion for companies since 1998 and has an average annual daily turnover of more than US$700 million, led it to review the way the book was operated.

From 10 February, the IOB’s opening hours will match the SETS market, which included the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 index constituents. Opening auctions will begin at 7:50am and regular trading at 8am with the closing price crossing session extended until 4pm.

Ticks sizes in the six most liquid IOB securities will also be reduced to be in-line with FTSE 100 stocks.

Lastly, IOB trading will move from its current T+3 settlement cycle to a T+2 settlement cycle, bringing it in line with EU efforts to harmonise settlement cycles, due to be introduced in October.

Anastasia Kutsepalova, head of international business at LSE, said: "These important changes recognise the exceptional growth and development of the IOB market.

“Many of its securities trade as heavily, if not more so, than the most liquid FTSE 100 stocks and it's appropriate to provide our customers with a market structure that matches its status as the world's leading GDR market.”

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