The discussion was in an early stage and options included extending the afternoon close to 5pm or even 8pm, two separate sources told the South China Morning Post. Scrapping the one-hour lunch break was not being actively considered, they added.

“HKEX is in an early discussion to explore the idea of extending the trading hours and it would consult the market before making any changes on a long-term basis,” one source said.

Pressure has mounted on the bourse operator after global peers stretched their sessions. Nasdaq, home to tech giants such as Apple, Microsoft and Amazon, planned to expand to 23 hours a day, five days a week, up from 16 hours a day now, according to its website.

The London Stock Exchange Group also weighed 24-hour trading to meet demand from retail investors, the Financial Times reported in July last year, citing sources. The London bourse is now trading from 8am to 4.30pm.

HKEX currently trades for five and a half hours on weekdays, from 9.30am to 4pm, with a one-hour lunch break. That compares with four hours in Shanghai and Shenzhen, five in Tokyo, six and a half in Toronto, eight and a half in London and 14 hours in Frankfurt.