On August 18, 2017, the NYSE issued a proposed amendment to Section 202.06 of the NYSE Listed Company Manual to limit the issuance of material news by a listed company during the period of time from the official closing time of the NYSE's trading session until the earlier of the publication of the company’s official closing price or five minutes after the NYSE's official closing time. The NYSE noted that since there is trading after 4:00 p.m. on other exchange and non-exchange venues, if a listed company releases material news immediately after 4:00 p.m., but before the closing auction on the NYSE is completed, there can be a significant price difference in nearly contemporaneous trades on other markets and the closing price on the NYSE. As the discrepancy between the closing price on the NYSE and trading prices on other markets can cause confusion to investors, the NYSE previously added advisory text in Section 202.06 requesting that listed companies intending to release material news after the close of trading on the NYSE wait until the earlier of the publication of their security's official closing price or 15 minutes after the NYSE's scheduled closing time. Despite the inclusion of the advisory text, the NYSE noted continuing investor confusion with material news released shortly after 4:00 p.m. The NYSE believes that the proposed amendment will mitigate the risk of market disruption and investor confusion associated with the occurrence of significant news-related price volatility on other markets during the brief period between the NYSE's official closing time and the completion of the closing auction. However, to avoid market disruptions when the closing auction is delayed more than five minutes, Section 202.06 will continue to include advisory text asking companies to avoid issuing material news until the earlier of publication of the official closing price or 15 minutes after the NYSE's official closing time.

A copy of the proposed amendment is available here.

Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

© Morrison & Foerster LLP. All rights reserved