HK bourse eyes longer futures trading hours -FT

HONG KONG, May 27 (Reuters) - The Hong Kong stock exchange is looking to extend trading hours for futures and options, a move that would bring Hong Kong closer to other Asian bourses, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

It quoted Emmanuel Faure, chairman of the Asia branch of the Futures Industry Association, as saying the Hong Kong exchange had been "very receptive" to prolonging trading by 2 hours until 6pm (1000 GMT) and "very interested in doing it this year", a move that would boost cross-trading activity with London.

The Hong Kong stock exchange now operates between 10am and 4.10pm (0200 GMT-0810 GMT)

However, bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (0388.HK) said it had "no such immediate plan (to prolong to 6 pm) but we keep listening to market views and suggestions".

"Any change in the trading hours will affect the whole market, so we need to consider the feedback of different groups of shareholders carefully," the newspaper quoted the Hong Kong Exchange as saying.

TheHong Kong bourse had in 2001 looked to extend trading but most market participants were against such a move, the newspaper added.

The Hong Kong bourse has since Monday extended the normal trading day for securities by 10 minutes to 4.10pm local time.

Shares of Hong Kong Stock Exchange gained 0.79 percent to HK$139.90 early on Tuesday. (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Keiron Henderson)