The New York Stock Exchange is amending its rules regarding public announcements by listed companies outside of market hours, as follows:
- to require listed companies to provide notice to the NYSE at least ten minutes before making any public announcement with respect to dividends irrespective of the time of day or day of the week; and
- a proposal to prohibit listed companies from releasing material news for up to five minutes after market close.
The amendment regarding dividend announcements was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 14, 2017, but the NYSE has proposed to extend the implementation date to no later than February 1, 2018. The proposed amendment regarding the issuance of material news was published by the SEC on August 29, 2017 but has not yet been approved. The relevant NYSE filings are available on the SEC’s website at https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nyse.htm.