▲ The building of the Korea Exchange, South Korea's main bourse operator (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Yonhap) -- The Korea Exchange (KRX) said Wednesday it will begin operating an after-market trading session starting next Monday, allowing investors to buy or sell stocks in real-time for four hours after regular trading hours.

The move is aimed at increasing competitiveness with global markets and expanding trading opportunities for investors, the bourse operator said in a statement.

It said in a statement that after-market trading will run from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

This is in addition to the regular trading session that begins at 9 a.m. and closes at 3:30 p.m.

Most stocks listed on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index and the KOSDAQ markets will be available for trading during the after-market session, KRX said.

However, investors will be banned from trading exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded notes during the four-hour session, given concerns about market volatility, the KRX said.

Daily stock price limits and market stabilization measures, such as a circuit breaker, will also be applied on the after-market session, it said.

Adding the after-market session is expected to "improve investor accessibility and increase market competitiveness, marking the first step for our stock market to leap toward a global level," the KRX said in the statement.

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