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Notice2026-16201

Joint Industry Plan; Order Granting Approval of the Twenty-Seventh Amendment to the National Market System Plan To Address Extraordinary Market Volatility To Establish Temporary Price Band Protections in Overnight Trading

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Published
August 10, 2026

Issuing agencies

Securities and Exchange Commission

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 152 (Monday, August 10, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 152 (Monday, August 10, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51515-51517]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-16201]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-106042; File No. 4-631]


Joint Industry Plan; Order Granting Approval of the Twenty-
Seventh Amendment to the National Market System Plan To Address 
Extraordinary Market Volatility To Establish Temporary Price Band 
Protections in Overnight Trading

August 5, 2026.

I. Introduction

    On May 27, 2026, Nasdaq, Inc., on behalf of the following parties 
to the Plan to Address Extraordinary Market Volatility (``Plan'' or 
``LULD Plan'') Pursuant to Rule 608 of Regulation NMS under the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Act'' or ``Exchange Act''): \1\ 24X 
National Exchange LLC, Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc., Cboe BYX Exchange, 
Inc., Cboe EDGA Exchange, Inc., Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc., Financial 
Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., Investors Exchange LLC, Long-Term 
Stock Exchange, Inc., MEMX LLC, MIAX PEARL, LLC, Nasdaq Texas LLC, 
Nasdaq PHLX LLC, New York Stock Exchange LLC, NYSE American LLC, NYSE 
Arca, Inc., NYSE Texas, Inc., NYSE National, Inc., and The Nasdaq Stock 
Market LLC (collectively, ``Participants''), filed with the Securities 
and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') pursuant to Section 11A(a)(3) 
of the Exchange Act \2\ and Rule 608 thereunder,\3\ a proposal to amend 
the Plan (``Amendment No. 27'').\4\ Amendment No. 27 proposes to 
establish phased price band protections to overnight trading 
(``Overnight Protections'') in anticipation of overnight trading by 
certain national securities exchanges.\5\
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    \1\ See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 67091, 77 FR 33498 
(June 6, 2012); 68953 (February 20, 2013), 78 FR 13113 (Feb. 26, 
2013); 69287 (April 3, 2013), 78 FR 21483 (Apr. 10, 2013); 70273 
(August 27, 2013), 78 FR 54321 (September 3, 2013); 70530 (September 
26, 2013), 78 FR 60937 (October 2, 2013); 71247 (January 7, 2014), 
79 FR 2204 (January 13, 2014); 71851 (April 3, 2014), 79 FR 19687 
(April 9, 2014); 74323 (February 19, 2015), 80 FR 10169 (February 
25, 2015); 76244 (October 22, 2015), 80 FR 66099 (October 28, 2015); 
77679 (April 21, 2016), 81 FR 24908 (April 27, 2016); 78703 (August 
26, 2016), 81 FR 60397 (September 1, 2016); 79845 (January 19, 
2017), 82 FR 8551 (January 26, 2017); 80455 (April 13, 2017), 82 FR 
18519 (April 19, 2017); 80549 (April 28, 2017), 82 FR 20928 (May 4, 
2017); 81720 (September 26, 2017), 82 FR 45922 (October 2, 2017); 
82887 (March 15, 2018), 83 FR 12414 (March 21, 2018); 83044 (April 
12, 2018), 83 FR 17205 (April 18, 2018); 85623 (April 11, 2019), 84 
FR 16086 (April 17, 2019); 88122 (February 5, 2020), 85 FR 7805 
(February 11, 2020); 88704 (April 21, 2020), 85 FR 23383 (April 27, 
2020); 89420 (July 29, 2020), 85 FR 46762 (August 3, 2020); 90068 
(October 1, 2020), 85 FR 63322 (October 7, 2020); 101036 (September 
16, 2024), 89 FR 77203 (September 20, 2024); 103042 (May 14, 2025), 
90 FR 21529 (May 20, 2025); 103845 (September 3, 2025), 90 FR 43254 
(September 8, 2025); and 105443 (May 12, 2026), 91 FR 27995 (May 15, 
2026).
    \2\ 15 U.S.C 78k-1(a)(3).
    \3\ 17 CFR 242.608.
    \4\ See Letter from Andrew Oppenheimer, Head of U.S. Equities, 
Nasdaq, to Vanessa Countryman, Secretary, Commission, dated May 27, 
2026 (``Transmittal Letter''). According to the Transmittal Letter, 
each of the Participants approved Amendment No. 27 in accordance 
with Section III(C) of the Plan. The Participants also received and 
incorporated feedback from the Plan Advisory Committee in preparing 
Amendment No. 27.
    \5\ Amendment No. 27 is available on the Commission's website 
at: <a href="https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/sro/nms/2026/34-105596.pdf">https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/sro/nms/2026/34-105596.pdf</a>.
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    Notice of filing of Amendment No. 27 was published for comment in 
the Federal Register on June 4, 2026.\6\ The Commission has received no 
comments regarding the proposed amendment to the Plan. The Commission 
hereby grants approval of Amendment No. 27.
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    \6\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 105596 (June 1, 
2026), 91 FR 33774 (``Notice'').
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II. Description of the Plan

    The Participants filed the Plan with the Commission on April 5, 
2011, to create a market-wide limit up-limit down (``LULD'') mechanism 
intended to address extraordinary market volatility in NMS Stocks, as 
defined in Rule 600(b)(65) of Regulation NMS under the Exchange Act.\7\ 
The Plan sets forth procedures that provide for market-wide LULD 
requirements to prevent trades in individual NMS Stocks from occurring 
outside of the specified Price Bands.\8\ These LULD requirements are 
coupled with Trading Pauses, as defined in Section I(Y) of the Plan, to 
accommodate more fundamental price moves. In particular, the 
Participants adopted this Plan to address extraordinary volatility in 
the securities markets, i.e., significant fluctuations in individual 
securities' prices over a short period of time, such as those 
experienced during the ``Flash Crash'' on the afternoon of May 6, 2010.
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    \7\ 17 CFR 242.600(b)(65).
    \8\ Unless otherwise stated, capitalized terms used herein are 
defined in the LULD Plan.
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III. Description of Proposed Amendment No. 27 to the Plan <SUP>9</SUP>
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    \9\ Additional information regarding Amendment No. 27 can be 
found in the Notice. See Notice, supra note 6.
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    The Participants propose to implement Overnight Protections in two 
phases. Amendment No. 27 proposes amendments to the Plan that 
constitute the first phase (``Phase 1''). Amendment No. 27 also 
discusses how the Participants will gather and analyze information 
concerning overnight trading that they will use to develop 
recommendations for a final proposal to be implemented in the overnight 
session. The final proposal will be submitted to the Commission as a 
plan amendment that will remove the interim measures and replace them 
with revised overnight protections (``Phase 2'').
    In this Amendment, the Participants propose to add a new Section 
VIII to the Plan, entitled ``Overnight Protections,'' which establishes 
a framework for calculating and disseminating ``Overnight Price Bands'' 
for use during ``Overnight Protected Hours'' (defined as 9:00 p.m. 
Eastern Time on Sunday through Thursday to 4:00 a.m. Eastern Time on 
the next calendar day),\10\ and requires all trading centers that are 
operative during such hours to establish, maintain, and enforce written 
policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to prevent trades 
outside of such Overnight Price Bands.\11\
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    \10\ See Notice, supra note 6 at 33776. The Participants state 
that the 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time commencement of the Overnight 
Protected Hours corresponds to the time at which the Processors will 
open for overnight trading, thereby ensuring that the LULD mechanism 
is operative from the moment overnight trading activity becomes 
available through the consolidated market data infrastructure. The 
Participants further state that the 4:00 a.m. Eastern Time 
conclusion of the Overnight Protected Hours was selected to 
accommodate the well-established practice of issuers releasing 
earnings announcements, material corporate disclosures, and other 
price-sensitive information during pre-market hours in advance of 
the Regular Trading Session. By terminating Overnight Protected 
Hours at 4:00 a.m. Eastern Time, the Participants state that they 
intend for market participants to be able to incorporate newly 
disclosed information into securities prices without the constraints 
of pricing bands based on the prior day's activity. See id.
    \11\ See id.
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    The proposed amendments for Phase 1 include the following key 
aspects:
    (1) The Primary Listing Exchange for each NMS Stock will calculate 
and disseminate to the Processors an Overnight Lower Price Band and an 
Overnight Upper Price Band to be

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applied during Overnight Protected Hours for NMS Stocks.\12\ The 
Overnight Price Bands will be based on two reference prices,\13\ as 
adjusted for any relevant corporate actions: (i) the official closing 
price of a stock as reported by the listing market for such NMS Stock 
(``Closing Price''); and (ii) the consolidated last round lot sale as 
of 7:45 p.m. Eastern Time, with the Overnight Lower Price Band being 
20% lower than the lower of the reference prices, and the Overnight 
Upper Price Band being 20% greater than the greater of the reference 
prices; the Overnight Percentage Parameter for a leveraged ETP will be 
20%, multiplied by the ETP's leverage ratio.\14\ For NMS Stocks with a 
Closing Price of less than $1.00, the minimum Overnight Upper Price 
Band and minimum Overnight Lower Price Band thresholds will each be 
$1.00 from the applicable reference price; for NMS Stocks with a 
Closing Price of $1.00 or more, the minimum Overnight Upper Price Band 
and minimum Overnight Lower Price Band thresholds will each be $3.00 
from the applicable reference price.\15\ The Minimum Price Band 
thresholds for a leveraged ETP will be multiplied by the leverage ratio 
of such product.\16\
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    \12\ See id.
    \13\ See id. The Participants state that the use of dual 
reference prices is designed to mitigate the risks associated with 
reliance on a single closing price that may become stale or 
unrepresentative of current market conditions by the time overnight 
trading commences, and that material information is frequently 
disseminated after the close of the Regular Trading Session, and 
post-market trading activity may result in prices that differ 
meaningfully from the Closing Price. See id. at 33777.
    \14\ See id. at 33776. The Participants selected a Percentage 
Parameter of 20% for Overnight Price Bands to align with the 20% 
static band protections currently employed by ATSs for overnight 
trading. See id. at 33777.
    \15\ See id. at 33776.
    \16\ See id.
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    (2) Primary Listing Exchanges will transmit the calculated 
Overnight Price Bands to the Processors no later than 8:55 p.m. Eastern 
Time, and the Processors will disseminate such bands to the public 
prior to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.\17\
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    \17\ See id.
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    (3) All trading centers in NMS Stocks that are operative during 
Overnight Protected Hours, must establish, maintain, and enforce 
written policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to prevent 
both trades and the display of prices outside the Overnight Price Bands 
during Overnight Protected Hours.
    (4) There will not be automatic Trading Pauses during the Overnight 
Protected Hours if an Overnight Price Band is hit,\18\ however, the 
Primary Listing Exchange of a stock may declare a Regulatory Halt when 
warranted to maintain a fair and orderly market, in accordance with its 
rules, including when orders are consistently being placed outside the 
bands or the price bands are otherwise limiting price discovery.\19\ 
The Primary Listing Exchange will notify the Processor if it declares a 
Regulatory Halt.\20\ During a Regulatory Halt during Overnight 
Protected Hours, Participants will reject orders. Any NMS Stock subject 
to a Regulatory Halt during Overnight Protected Hours will not reopen 
during Overnight Protected Hours.\21\
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    \18\ During Regular Trading Hours, a Primary Listing Exchange 
must declare a Trading Pause if an NMS Stock does not exit a Limit 
State with 15 seconds of entry and may declare a Trading Pause if an 
NMS Stock is in a Straddle State. See LULD Plan Section VII(A)(1).
    \19\ See Notice, supra note 6 at 33776, 33777-78.
    \20\ See id. at 33776. The Participants state that Primary 
Listing Exchanges anticipate using halt codes currently available 
within the Processors' specifications. See id. at n.13.
    \21\ See id. at 33776.
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    (5) The proposed amendment also amends Section IV of the Plan to 
require that trading center policies and procedures comply with the 
overnight requirements specified in the new Section VIII.\22\
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    \22\ See id. Unlike policies at certain ATSs, the proposed 
amendment does not include guidance regarding how to handle 
corporate actions during Overnight Protected Hours, as this decision 
will be left to the discretion of each listing exchange. See id. at 
n.14.
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    The Participants state that they expect to include information 
regarding the operations of Phase 1 in the Plan's quarterly reports, 
commencing with the quarterly report covering the first full quarter of 
overnight trading.\23\ The Participants will report on the evidence 
gathered on overnight trading together with its proposal for Phase 2 
revisions to overnight protections.\24\
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    \23\ See id. at 33780.
    \24\ See id.
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    Amendment No. 27 proposes to modify the Implementation Section of 
the LULD Plan to provide that Overnight Protections are expected to 
commence on December 6, 2026.\25\
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    \25\ See id. at 33799. The Participants state that the operative 
date of the amendments are subject to certain systems changes by the 
Processors for the Unlisted Trading Privileges (UTP) Plan and 
Consolidated Tape Association (CTA) Plan to ensure dissemination of 
overnight trading bands. See Notice, supra note 6 at 33781. The 
Participants represent that the Processors are preparing to commence 
overnight trading on December 6, 2026, and that implementation of 
proposed Phase 1 is designed to require minimal work from the 
Participants. See id. at 33777, 33778.
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IV. Discussion and Commission's Findings

    Recent approvals to allow certain exchanges to conduct trading on a 
23 hour per day, 5 day per week basis \26\ represent an expansion of 
exchange trading into periods that have historically been characterized 
by lower liquidity, wider spreads, and the potential for increased 
price volatility. Amendment No. 27 is a first step to address potential 
extraordinary market volatility between 9:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. Eastern 
Time. For the reasons discussed below, the Commission finds that 
Amendment No. 27, as proposed, is consistent with the requirements of 
the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder. Specifically, the 
Commission finds that Amendment No. 27 is consistent with Section 11A 
of the Act \27\ and Rule 608 thereunder \28\ in that the proposal is 
appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors and 
the maintenance of fair and orderly markets, and that it removes 
impediments to, and perfects the mechanism of, a national market 
system.
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    \26\ See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 102400 
(February 11, 2025), 90 FR 9794 (February 18, 2025) (SR-NYSEARCA-
2024-89); 101777 (November 27, 2024), 89 FR 97092 (December 6, 
2024); and 105199 (April 10, 2026), 91 FR 20222 (April 15, 2026) 
(SR-NASDAQ-2025-109). See also Securities Exchange Act Release No. 
105206 (April 10, 2026) 91 FR 20213 (April 15, 2026) (SR-CboeEDGX-
2026-019).
    \27\ See 15 U.S.C 78k-1.
    \28\ See 17 CFR 242.608.
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    First, the Overnight Protections proposed in Amendment No. 27 are 
reasonably designed to address extraordinary volatility during a time 
of reduced liquidity. Establishing price bands helps ensure that 
overnight trading continues within a limited price range, which should 
help protect investors that choose to trade during Overnight Protected 
Hours. The proposed 20% Overnight Price Bands, without automatic 
trading pauses, is similar to existing price protection mechanisms 
employed by ATSs that currently operate overnight, which will be 
familiar to market participants that trade overnight currently. In 
addition, the two reference prices for setting the bands, including the 
consolidated last round lot sale as of 7:45 p.m. Eastern Time, account 
for news and trading activity that happens after the Closing Price is 
determined. Further, the ability of a Primary Listing Exchange, in its 
discretion, to call a Regulatory Halt that would remain in place for 
the duration of the overnight session will allow the markets to resume 
trading in a trading session following the overnight session

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where there is likely to be more liquidity. Together, these aspects of 
Amendment No. 27 allow for price discovery to take place during the 
overnight session while protecting investors from trading at 
potentially aberrant prices in a low-liquidity overnight trading 
environment.
    Second, Amendment No. 27 establishes uniform protections across all 
trading centers that operate during Overnight Protected Hours. All 
trading centers in NMS Stocks that operate during Overnight Protected 
Hours will be required to establish, maintain, and enforce written 
policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to prevent both 
trades and the display of prices outside the Overnight Price Bands 
during Overnight Protected Hours. This uniformity should help promote 
fair and orderly markets in NMS Stocks across all trading centers 
during Overnight Protected Hours.
    Third, Amendment No. 27 is a measured, first-step to address 
extraordinary volatility during overnight trading of NMS Stocks, and it 
is being implemented as the first step in a two-step phased approach to 
applying the Plan's investor protections to overnight trading sessions. 
As noted in the proposal, the Participants intend to gather and analyze 
information concerning overnight trading and will use that information 
to develop future recommendations for Plan operation during Overnight 
Protected Hours.\29\
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    \29\ The Commission has emphasized the importance of ongoing 
review and assessment to ensure that the Plan continues to achieve 
its objective of reducing extraordinary volatility. See, e.g., 
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 85623 (April 11, 2019), 84 FR 
16086 (April 17, 2019) (File No. 4-631). The Commission expects 
information regarding the operations of Phase 1 to be included in 
the Plan's quarterly reports, commencing with the quarterly report 
covering the first full quarter of overnight trading. See Notice, 
supra note 6 at 33780.
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V. Conclusion

    It is therefore ordered, pursuant to Section 11A of the Exchange 
Act \30\ and Rule 608 thereunder,\31\ that Amendment No. 27 to the Plan 
(File No. 4-631) be, and it hereby is, approved.
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    \30\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
    \31\ 17 CFR 242.608.

    By the Commission.
Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-16201 Filed 8-7-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P


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Indexed from Federal Register on August 10, 2026.

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