(Adds LSE quote, trader, other detail)
By Huw Jones
LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - There is broad backing in stock
markets for cutting the trading day by 90 minutes in a
coordinated way across European exchanges, the London Stock
Exchange said on Monday.
The LSE published feedback from its public consultation on
making trading hours more family-friendly to help recruit more
women to trading desks and improve mental wellbeing.
"There was also widespread consensus from respondents that
any change to trading hours would ideally require a broadly
aligned approach across European exchanges and other trading
venues," the LSE said in a statement.
"Without this harmonisation, the goals of improved diversity
and wellbeing would be harder to achieve, given the pan-European
nature of many trading roles in the financial industry."
Euronext is still conducting its own consultation on trading
hours and has questioned the rationale of a "London proposal".
Deutsche Boerse had no comment on Monday.
The current European trading day is 0800-1630 UK time,
longer than in Asia or Wall Street, and most market participants
preferred a 0900-1600 trading day, with a minority calling for
no change, according to the LSE.
The stock exchange will go back to market participants to
see whether working from home since March due to coronavirus
lockdowns has changed how they view trading hours.
Keith Temperton, a sales trader at Tavira Securities, said
that without real pre-market and after-hours trading like on
Wall Street, cutting European hours would be a step backwards.
The Federation of European Securities Exchanges, which had
no immediate comment, is asking members if there is support for
cutting hours, though some are thought to be leery.
The LSE is not a member of FESE, and Britain's departure
from the European Union could also make aligning a cut in hours
more difficult.
The LSE said it would scrap intraday auctions after most
respondents found they don't attract a broad range of liquidity.
(Additional reporting by Thyagaraju Adinarayan
Editing by Mark Heinrich)