Back on March 7th, companies with stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange received the NYSE’s annual memorandum highlighting its most commonly applicable policies and rules. On May 21st, the NYSE sent an updated version of the earlier memorandum that corrects a glitch in its telephone alert requirements, which I highlighted in this Doug’s Note.

The NYSE Listed Company Manual (Section 202) requires that companies promptly release to the public any news or information that might reasonably be expected to materially affect the market for its securities. Section 202.06 states that a company must call the NYSE ten minutes before it disseminates any such news (or immediately upon becoming aware of such information):

• during market hours (9:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. New York time),
• “shortly before” the 9:30 a.m. market opening, and
• between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. (after the market has closed).

The updated May 21st memo eliminates the requirement to call the NYSE regarding material information disseminated after 4:00 p.m. A NYSE representative explained by telephone that because NYSE no longer accommodates a 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. trading session, a call after the 4:00 p.m. market close is no longer necessary. This makes sense, of course, and is welcome news for companies that have been routinely releasing information after 4:30 p.m. but before 5:00 p.m. without calling the NYSE ahead of time. (Note that copies of press releases must be provided to the NYSE regardless of when they are issued.)

I’ve been told not to expect the NYSE Manual to be updated any time soon to reflect this change since Manual revisions apparently require protracted, Herculean effort. In the meantime, you can ignore the 5:00 p.m. reference in Section 202.06. Material information released after 4:00 p.m. does not require an advance call to NYSE.