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With effect from Monday 6 July, Oslo Børs will change the tick size for the shares of all 25 companies in the OBX index to NOK 0.01. This change is a consequence of reductions in tick sizes implemented by certain other marketplaces that offer trading in shares listed on Oslo Børs.
Tick size refers to the minimum amount by which the price of a share is allowed to move up or down, and is thus the minimum difference between bid and offer prices in the order book.
The Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE) is currently working on proposals to harmonise the rules for setting tick size. Oslo Børs wishes to participate in harmonisation in this area, and intends to adopt the FESE recommendation as soon as it is issued if the recommendation is accepted by other players. The new tick size for OBX shares must therefore be seen as an interim arrangement in anticipation of FESE issuing a harmonised tick size table.
Unfortunately, some other venues that offer trading in shares listed on Oslo Børs have decided not to await the result of the FESE deliberations, and have already started to offer trading with tick sizes that are significantly lower than Oslo Børs offers. Oslo Børs has therefore found it necessary to respond to these changes. The London Stock Exchange, with which Oslo Børs has entered into an agreement for technological and strategic collaboration, reduced its tick sizes with effect from 22 June for the same reason.
Until now, the tick size for the shares that make up the OBX index has been between NOK 0.01 and NOK 1.00, depending on the price range.
