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Stock exchange news:

Trading schedule adjustments

Wednesday, 27 August 2008

Starting on 1 September 2008, trading sessions on the equity market (continuous trading) will start at 9:00 and trading sessions on the derivative instruments market will start at 8:30. Previously trading sessions on the equity market started at 9:30 and on the derivatives market at 9:00.

The new trading schedule is designed to improve the WSE’s competitive position against the other European exchanges. Striving to win the position of the leading market in the region and to minimise the risk of limited liquidity of listed financial instruments due to the outflow of capital to other trading platforms, the WSE must adjust its trading schedule to the standards of the best developed markets.

At present most European exchanges start trading sessions on the cash market before the WSE does (including Euronext, the London Stock Exchange, OMX, Deutsche Borse, Wiener Borse, Borsa Italiana, the Swiss and the Hungarian exchange). The leading futures markets also start trading before the WSE.

The changed schedule of trading on the WSE will benefit both domestic and foreign investors. It will give them the opportunity of reacting to the changing situation on European markets and making investment decisions concerning dual listed stocks.

The new trading session schedule effective as of September 2008 is the first step towards the extension of trading time. In the next stage planned for 2009 the trading session will be extended in the afternoon.