Allow stop-loss, cash market for retail players

IN A FEW months' time, the local stock market should see the introduction of dynamic circuit breakers in daily trading, which are aimed at giving traders a five-minute cooling-off period to think about what they are doing when prices move by more than 10 per cent in either direction.

Retail traders - so often on the receiving end of sudden, unwanted volatility - should welcome this as it means they have a greater chance of reducing their losses and preserving their capital when prices plunge abruptly.

Looking after retail interests is all the more important given the increasing presence of computerised trading and the Singapore Exchange's (SGX) stated plan to eventually bring in high-frequency traders to enhance liquidity here.