The Toronto Stock Exchange’s (TSX) dark market, TSX DRK, plans to offer a couple of months of free trading.
In a notice, the TSX said it received approval from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) to offer promotional pricing from Aug. 1 to Sept. 30.
It’s awaiting approval from the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) and the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) to offer the same promo on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV).
The exchange notes that, during the promo period, all “active/liquidity taking executions by orders marked as ‘Seek Dark Liquidity’ or by IOC Peg orders” will be free.
After Sept. 30, the trading fees will return to their current levels.
The offer is designed to “promote adoption of optimal routing behaviours and to better facilitate price-improving dark executions through incorporation of TSX DRK into brokers’ dark sweeping routing logic,” the TSX says in its notice.
Additionally, all “contra midpoint only plus (CMO+)” trades, which incorporate a trading speed bump, will also be free during the promo period.
That new functionality is scheduled to be implemented on Aug. 12.