The last trading day of the year at the nation's stock markets will be December 30 this year with operations resuming on January 3.

The Korea Exchange said on Monday that December 31 will be considered a holiday and excluded from settlement, though those at the central counterparty clearing house(CCP) for over-the-counter(OTC) derivatives will proceed without closing.

December 29 will be the ex-dividend day for corporations that balance their accounts in December, allowing investors who purchase shares by December 28 to collect dividends.

On January 3, the market opening for marketable securities, derivatives, KOSDAQ and KONEX will be delayed by an hour to 10:00 a.m., but close at the regular time of 3:30 p.m.