Kolkata, Jan 4 (IANS) Braving the chilly winter morning Monday, brokers across the country made their way to offices early after the bourses decided to start trade 55 minutes earlier and extend trading hours.

From Monday, the two key bourses of the country -- the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) -- started trading hours from 9 a.m. instead of 9.55 a.m. to lure derivative traders in Hong Kong and Singapore to their platforms.

'The inevitable has happened. Our technical guys have come to office at 8 a.m. so that they can start the server and have some time to rectify technical problems, if there is any,' city-based stockbroker Binay Kumar Agarwal told IANS.

Agarwal said he was thinking of recruiting more people to run two shifts. 'We cannot expect anyone to work from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. everyday,' he said.

Added Sumedha Fiscal Services director Bijay Murmuria: 'We have to live with this decision now. Our office staff have to come early now.'

Calcutta Stock Exchange has also advanced timings to be in sync with the national bourses.