Markets may be in favour of shortening the trading day in Europe, but key hurdles must be cleared before the proposals can be put into action, according to stock exchange operators and trade groups.

The plan looks unlikely to happen unless there are further talks with the trading industry and relevant regulators on key topics such as the Covid-19 crisis, and quantitative studies of the impact on liquidity. Perhaps, most importantly, discussions need to thrash out what a harmonised approach across exchange operators in Europe would look like.