The Tokyo Stock Exchange kicked off a 30-minute extension of its daily trading hours on Tuesday. That's the first time-change at the bourse in 70 years, or since 1954. The move is part of efforts to improve competitiveness and attract more investors.

The market opens from 9 a.m. and now closes at 3:30 p.m. The one-hour midday break remains unchanged.
The TSE also introduced a closing auction session during the last 5 minutes of trading.

The bourse says the auction is transparent and aims to improve the method of setting closing prices.
During this period, buy and sell orders can be placed, but trades are not executed.

The TSE says the auction shows the supply and demand flow for different stocks, and investors can place or cancel orders accordingly. Closing prices are set at 3:30 p.m. based on the orders.

The bourse finished Tuesday's trading with no troubles reported. The benchmark Nikkei 225 rebounded from Friday's sharp drop to end at 38,474, up 1.1 percent. Monday was a national holiday in Japan.

The index briefly gained over 500 points, following a fall of more than 1,000 points at the end of last week.

Analysts said many investors were in a wait-and-see mood ahead of the US presidential election.