I. Introduction

On January 12, 2026,^[1] the Participants ^[2] in the Second Restatement of the Consolidated Tape Association Plan (“CTA Plan”) and the Restated Consolidated Quotation Plan (“CQ Plan”) (collectively “CTA/CQ Plans” or “Plans”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”), pursuant to Section 11A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) ^[3] and Rule 608(a) of Regulation National Market System (“NMS”) thereunder,^[4] a proposal to amend the Plans to extend the Processor's ^[5] hours of operation (“Extended Hours Proposal”). The Extended Hours Proposal represents the Fortieth Substantive Amendment to the CTA Plan and the Thirty-First Substantive Amendment to the CQ Plan. The Extended Hours Proposal was published for comment in the Federal Register on January 27, 2026.^[6] No comment letters were received.

On April 7, 2026, the Participants filed an amendment to the Extended Hours Proposal (“Amendment No. 1”), which amended and superseded the Extended Hours Proposal in its entirety, as set forth in Item II.B.^[7] The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the Extended Hours Proposal, as modified by Amendment No. 1, and is instituting proceedings, under Rule 608(b)(2)(i) of Regulation NMS,^[8] to determine whether to approve or disapprove the Extended Hours Proposal, as modified by Amendment No. 1, or to approve the Extended Hours Proposal, as modified by Amendment No. 1, with any changes or subject to any conditions the Commission deems necessary or appropriate.

II. Extended Hours Proposal

A. Summary of Notice Published January 27, 2026

The Participants proposed to amend the Plans to extend the Processor's hours of operation to receive and disseminate quotation information, last sale price information, and related information in Eligible Securities from 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time (“ET”) Sunday to 8:00 p.m. ET Friday; provided, however, that the Processor will pause operations at 8:00 p.m. ET on Monday through Thursday for one hour to accommodate technical refreshes for the Processor, Participants, and other market participants.^[9] In the event of a holiday where U.S. markets are closed, the Processor would not operate from 8:00 p.m. ET the day before the holiday through 9:00 p.m. ET the day of the holiday.^[10] The Processor would consider a trade date to start at 8:00 p.m. ET on the day before Regular Trading ( printed page 21564) Hours begin and end at 8:00 p.m. ET on the same day as when Regular Trading Hours begin.^[11] Other than extending the hours of operation, the Processor will operate as it currently does.^[12]

As proposed, Participants that utilize the extended hours would be required to pay for the development and operating costs and expenses which are incurred by the Processor to accommodate the extended hours.^[13] Participants that utilize the extended hours at a later time would be required to pay a proportionate share of the aggregate development costs previously paid by other Participants, and contribute to the operating costs from the point at which it begins operating during the extended hours.^[14]

B. Notice and Description of Amendment No. 1

Set forth in this Section II.B. is the description of the proposed Amendment No. 1, along with information required by Rules 601(a) and 608(a) under the Exchange Act,^[15] as prepared and submitted by the Participants to the Commission.^[16] Set forth in Exhibit A and Exhibit B is the text of the Amendment No. 1 marked to show the proposed changes to the respective Plans, as prepared and submitted by the Participants.

(a) Rule 608(a)

1. Purpose of the Amendments

The purpose of the amendments is to extend the Processor's hours of operation to receive and disseminate quotation information, last sale price information, and related information in Eligible Securities from 9:00 p.m. ET Sunday to 8:00 p.m. ET Friday; provided, however, that the Processor will pause operations at 8:00 p.m. ET on Monday through Thursday for an hour to accommodate technical refreshes for the Processor, Participants, and other market participants.

As background, a number of Participants have recently proposed extending their hours of operation.^[17] Those proposals provided for trading days of varying lengths ( e.g., 23 hours versus 22 hours) along with hours of operation that did not overlap. Further, under those proposals, the extended trading hours could not be implemented unless the Equity Data Plans ^[18] (1) established a mechanism to collect, consolidate, process and disseminate quotation and transaction information at all times during the extended trading hours that is equivalent to the mechanism established for Regular Trading Hours; ^[19] and (2) notified the relevant exchanges of their readiness.

Following the approval of some of those individual Participant proposals by the SEC, all the Participants have worked jointly to outline a plan for the collection, consolidation, processing, and dissemination of quotation and transaction information during the extended hours proposed by the Participants. Following extensive discussions among the Participants and the Advisory Committee of the UTP Plan and the Plans, the Participants have developed the proposal contained herein (“Proposal”) to implement hours of operation to be set as close as technologically feasible to 24 hours per day, as well as agreed to particular hours of operation.

With respect to the hours of operation, the Participants have agreed to operate from 9:00 p.m. ET Sunday to 8:00 p.m. ET Friday; provided, however, that the Processor would pause operations at 8:00 p.m. ET on Monday through Thursday for an hour to accommodate technical refreshes for the Processor, Participants, and other market participants. In the event of a holiday where U.S. markets are closed, the Processor would not operate from 8:00 p.m. ET the day before the holiday through 9:00 p.m. ET the day of the holiday. For example, if the markets are closed for a holiday on a Thursday, then the Processors would not operate from 8:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday to 9:00 p.m. ET on Thursday. With respect to a holiday where U.S. markets close early the day before the holiday (and because on such early close days, late trading sessions end at 5:00 p.m. ET), the Processor will not operate from 5:00 p.m. ET the day before the holiday through 9:00 p.m. ET the day of the holiday.

With respect to the pause from 8:00 p.m. ET to 9:00 p.m. ET on Monday through Thursday, the Processor would endeavor to reduce the length of the pause where technically feasible. In the event the length of the pause is reduced, the Operating Committee would amend the Plans and notify the industry of the reduction at least 90 days prior to implementation of a reduction. The Participants determined that having a pause at 8:00 p.m. ET would lessen the cost, complexity, and burden of designing a system that did not have a pause. In particular, if the Processor did not pause at 8:00 p.m. ET, the design would have required designing, funding, and building a duplicate system to handle a 24-hour trading session as the Processor's systems require at least some downtime for system refreshes. Further, the Participants understand that other market participants would consider the proposed pause useful to refresh their own systems prior to beginning the next day's trading session.^[20]

With respect to when a trade date starts and ends, the Processor would consider a trade date to be between ^[21] 8:00 p.m. ET on the day before Regular Trading Hours begin and 8:00 p.m. ET on the same day as when Regular Trading Hours begin.^[22] In other words, Wednesday's trading day would be between 8:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and 8:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The Participants believe that having the start of a trade date prior to the opening of markets would reduce complexity and burden as the alternative would have required a new trading date to start in the middle of a trading session ( i.e., at midnight). Additionally, the Participants believe that starting the trading date at the specified time would align with current practice for venues already trading during the proposed extended hours.

Consistent with current practice for existing hours of operation, the Participants have agreed to the following provisions regarding the Processor's operation during extended trading hours: ( printed page 21565)

• For transactions reported outside the hours of 9:30 a.m. ET and 4:00 p.m. ET, such transactions will be designated as “.T” trades to denote their execution outside normal market hours.^[23]

• Late trades will be reported in accordance with the rules of the Participant in whose market the transaction occurred and can be reported at any time the Processor is able to receive last sale price information.^[24]

• Transactions reported outside the hours of 9:30 a.m. ET and 4:00 p.m. ET will be included in the calculation of total trade volume for purposes of determining net distributable operating revenue, but will not be included in the calculation of the daily high, low, or last sale.
• Quote Credits may be earned only in connection with quotations transmitted by a Participant to the Processor during Regular Trading Hours.

Consistent with the current language of the Plans,^[25] the Participants have agreed that only Participants that utilize the extended hours described herein would be required to pay for the development and operating costs and expenses which would not have been incurred by the Processor had it not made the changes described herein. Further, the Participants have agreed that to the extent any additional Participant begins utilizing the extended hours described herein at a later time, such additional Participant will be required to pay a proportionate share of the aggregate development costs previously paid by other Participants. The Participants agree that such additional Participant will contribute to the operating costs of the extended operating hours from the point at which it begins utilizing the extended hours, but that previously-incurred operating costs will not be reapportioned when a Participant begins utilizing the extended hours.

As part of the amendments, the Participants have proposed moving existing language related to costs and making minor changes for readability.^[26] This existing language in the CQ Plan referred to additional expenses related to operation outside 9:00 a.m. ET and 6:30 p.m. ET; however, the Participants already operate outside of this time period and there are no additional expenses to allocate from the Processor's operation outside of this time period based on current operations. The extended hours proposed herein, however, will result in additional expenses that will need to be allocated. Consequently, the Participants propose updating the current allocation language to focus solely on the extended hours proposed herein.

The Participants believe that the proposed allocation of the incremental development and operating costs associated with the extended hours is consistent with the Exchange Act because it reflects a reasonable, cost-causation-based approach that is designed to promote the economically efficient operation of the Plans while avoiding unreasonable discrimination. Specifically, the amendments provide that only those Participants that elect to utilize the extended hours will bear the development costs and operational expenses that would not have been incurred absent the extended-hours functionality, thereby avoiding imposing costs on Participants that do not use (and do not benefit from) the extended-hours capability. In addition, requiring a Participant that begins utilizing the extended hours at a later date to pay a proportionate share of previously incurred development costs is designed to prevent free-riding and to treat similarly situated Participants in a comparable manner.

2. Governing or Constituent Documents

No changes as a result of amendments.

3. Implementation of Amendments

All of the Participants have manifested their approval of the proposed amendments by means of their execution of the Plans. The Participants also solicited the Advisory Committee for its thoughts and any comments on the amendments.

If these amendments are approved by the Commission, the amendments, including the proposed changes to the language of the Plans, will not become operative until the Operating Committee determines that market conditions will support the extended hours of operation. The specific market conditions to be considered by the Operating Committee include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (“DTCC”) offers clearing during the extended hours of operation.^[27]

• The Processor has implemented changes to symbol directory messages as specified in a previously approved change request, which requires the Processors to disseminate specified reference information for Eligible Securities in symbol directory messages.
• Listing markets are able to support the changes to the symbol directory messages, including corporate actions information.
• The Processor will be able to disseminate all quotes and trades, including off-exchange trades, during the extended trading hours.

The Processors and listing markets anticipate meeting the final three requirements before the planned December 6, 2026 launch of the extended hours.

The Participants request the SEC determine whether dissemination of real-time Trade Reporting Facility (“TRF”) information outside of Regular Hours is a prerequisite for implementation.

4. Development and Implementation Phases

The Operating Committee expects that the implementation of the amendment will occur on December 6, 2026. Prior to the implementation, the Processor will announce testing dates.

5. Analysis of Impact on Competition

The amendments proposed herein do not impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Act”) because the amendments ( printed page 21566) implement the extended trading hours as approved by the Commission as part of proposals by the Participants. Similarly, the Participants do not believe that the proposed amendments introduce terms that are unreasonably discriminatory for the purposes of Section 11A(c)(1)(D) of the Act because the amendments implement the extended trading hours as approved by the Commission as part of proposals by the Participants.

Additionally, the implementation decisions were made after extensive discussion among the Participants (including those with pending proposals to offer extended trading hours) as well as the Advisory Committee. The amendments were designed with a view to maximizing industry benefit while being agnostic to current proposals from Participants. While certain specific aspects of the amendments differ from the proposals by the Participants, the Participants have agreed to these changes after discussing the practicality of implementing extended trading hours. The Participants do not believe that the design choices discussed herein impose a burden on competition because the Participants have developed an approach that minimizes downtime of the system while also ensuring that the Processor, the Participants, and other market participants have the opportunity to refresh their systems during the pause prior to the start of a trading day. The Participants believe that implementing the pause will minimize the technological burden of the expanded trading hours.

6. Written Understanding or Agreements Relating to Interpretation of, or Participation in, Plan

No changes as a result of amendments.

7. Approval by Sponsors in Accordance With Plan

Section IV.(c)(i) of the CQ Plan and Section IV.(b)(i) of the CTA Plan require the Participants to unanimously approve the amendments proposed herein. They have so approved it as of the date specified in the below amendments.

8. Description of Operation of Facility Contemplated by the Proposed Amendment

Other than extending the hours of operations, the Processor will operate as it currently does.

9. Terms and Conditions of Access

No changes as a result of amendments.

10. Method of Determination and Imposition, and Amount of, Fees and Charges

Consistent with the current language of the Plans, the Participants have agreed that only Participants that utilize the extended hours described herein would be required to pay for the development and operating costs and expenses which would not have been incurred by the Processor had it not made the changes described herein. Further, the Participants have agreed that to the extent any additional Participant begins utilizing the extended hours described herein at a later time, such additional Participant will be required to pay a proportionate share of the aggregate development costs previously paid by other Participants. The Participants agree that such additional Participant will contribute to the operating costs of the extended operating hours from the point at which it begins utilizing the extended hours, but that previously-incurred operating costs will not be reapportioned when a Participant begins utilizing the extended hours.

As part of the amendments, the Participants have proposed moving existing language related to costs and making minor changes for readability. This existing language in the CQ Plan referred to additional expenses related to operation outside 9:00 a.m. ET and 6:30 p.m. ET; however, the Participants already operate outside of this time period and there are no additional expenses to allocate from the Processor's operation outside of this time period based on current operations. The extended hours proposed herein, however, will result in additional expenses that will need to be allocated. Consequently, the Participants propose updating the current allocation language to focus solely on the extended hours proposed herein.

Additionally, the Participants have proposed utilizing the following methodology for considering whether quotations and transactions during the extended hours are incorporated into the revenue allocation formula, which aligns with current practice:

• Transactions reported outside the hours of 9:30 a.m. ET and 4:00 p.m. ET will be included in the calculation of total trade volume for purposes of determining net distributable operating revenue, but will not be included in the calculation of the daily high, low, or last sale.
• Quote Credits may be earned only in connection with quotations transmitted by a Participant to the Processor during Regular Trading Hours.

11. Method and Frequency of Processor Evaluation

No changes as a result of amendments.

12. Dispute Resolution

No changes as a result of amendments.

(b) Rule 601(a)

1. Equity Securities for Which Transaction Reports Shall Be Required by the Plan

No changes as a result of amendments.

2. Reporting Requirements

Other than extending the hours of operations, the Processor will operate as it currently does.

3. Manner of Collecting, Processing, Sequencing, Making Available and Disseminating Last Sale Information

Other than extending the hours of operations, the Processor will operate as it currently does.

4. Manner of Consolidation

Other than extending the hours of operations, the Processor will operate as it currently does.

5. Standards and Methods Ensuring Promptness, Accuracy and Completeness of Transaction Reports

Other than extending the hours of operations, the Processor will operate as it currently does.

6. Rules and Procedures Addressed to Fraudulent or Manipulative Dissemination

No changes as a result of amendments.

7. Terms of Access to Transaction Reports

No changes as a result of amendments.

8. Identification of Marketplace of Execution

No changes as a result of amendments.

III. Proceedings To Determine Whether To Approve or Disapprove the Extended Hours

Proposal

The Commission is instituting proceedings pursuant to Rule 608(b)(2)(i) of Regulation NMS,^[28] and Rules 700 and 701 of the Commission's ( printed page 21567) Rules of Practice,^[29] to determine whether to approve or disapprove the Extended Hours Proposal, as modified by Amendment No. 1, or to approve the Extended Hours Proposal, as modified by Amendment No. 1, with any changes or subject to any conditions the Commission deems necessary or appropriate. The Commission is instituting proceedings to have sufficient time to consider the issues raised by the Extended Hours Proposal, as modified by Amendment No. 1. Institution of proceedings does not indicate that the Commission has reached any conclusions with respect to any of the issues involved. Rather, the Commission seeks and encourages interested persons to provide additional comment on the Extended Hours Proposal, as modified by Amendment No. 1, to inform the Commission's analysis.

Rule 608(b)(2) of Regulation NMS provides that the Commission “shall approve a national market system plan or proposed amendment to an effective national market system plan, with such changes or subject to such conditions as the Commission may deem necessary or appropriate, if it finds that such plan or amendment is necessary or appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors and the maintenance of fair and orderly markets, to remove impediments to, and perfect the mechanisms of, a national market system, or otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the [Exchange] Act.” ^[30] Rule 608(b)(2) further provides that the Commission shall disapprove a national market system plan or proposed amendment if it does not make such a finding.^[31] In the Notice, the Commission sought comment on the Extended Hours Proposal, including whether the Extended Hours Proposal is consistent with the Exchange Act.^[32] In this order, pursuant to Rule 608(b)(2)(i) of Regulation NMS,^[33] the Commission is providing notice of the grounds for disapproval under consideration. The Commission is instituting proceedings to allow for additional analysis of whether the Extended Hours Proposal, as modified by Amendment No. 1, is necessary or appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors and the maintenance of fair and orderly markets, to remove impediments to, and perfect the mechanisms of, a national market system, or otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Exchange Act consistent with Rule 608 of Regulation NMS.^[34]

In addition, the Commission is instituting proceedings to allow for additional analysis of whether modifications to the Extended Hours Proposal, as modified by Amendment No. 1, or conditions to its approval, such as limiting the consideration of other market conditions by the Operating Committee before implementing the Extended Hours Proposal, as modified by Amendment No. 1, are necessary or appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors and the maintenance of fair and orderly markets, to remove impediments to, and perfect the mechanisms of, a national market system, or otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Exchange Act consistent with Rule 608 of Regulation NMS.^[35]

Under the Commission's Rules of Practice, the “burden to demonstrate that a NMS plan filing is consistent with the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations issued thereunder . . . is on the plan participants that filed the NMS plan filing.” ^[36] The description of the NMS plan filing, its purpose and operation, its effect, and a legal analysis of its consistency with applicable requirements must all be sufficiently detailed and specific to support an affirmative Commission finding.^[37] Any failure of the plan participants that filed the NMS plan filing to provide such detail and specificity may result in the Commission not having a sufficient basis to make an affirmative finding that the NMS plan filing is consistent with the Exchange Act and the applicable rules and regulations thereunder.^[38]

IV. Commission's Solicitation of Comments

The Commission requests that interested persons provide written submissions of their views, data, and arguments with respect to the issues identified above, as well as any other concerns they may have with the Extended Hours Proposal, as modified by Amendment No. 1. In particular, the Commission invites the written views of interested persons concerning whether the Extended Hours Proposal, as modified by Amendment No. 1, is consistent with the Exchange Act, the rules and regulations thereunder.^[39] The Commission asks that commenters address the sufficiency and merit of the Participant's statements in support of the Extended Hours Proposal, as modified by Amendment No. 1, in addition to any other comments they may wish to submit about the Extended Hours Proposal, as modified by Amendment No. 1.

Although there do not appear to be any issues relevant to approval or disapproval that would be facilitated by an oral presentation of views, data, and arguments, the Commission will consider, pursuant to Rule 608(b)(2)(i) of Regulation NMS,^[40] any request for an opportunity to make an oral presentation.^[41]

Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and arguments regarding whether the Extended Hours Proposal, as modified by Amendment No. 1, should be approved or disapproved by May 13, 2026. Any person who wishes to file a rebuttal to any other person's submission must file that rebuttal by May 27, 2026. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:

Electronic Comments

• Use the Commission's internet comment form (http://www.sec.gov/​rules/​sro.shtml); or
• Send an email torule-comments@sec.gov. Please include file number SR-CTA/CQ-2026-01 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

• Send paper comments in triplicate to: Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-CTA/CQ-2026-01. This file number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To help the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently, please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on the Commission's internet website ( http://www.sec.gov/​rules/​sro.shtml). Copies of the filing will be available for inspection and copying at the principal offices of the Participants.

Do not include personal identifiable information in submissions; you should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. We may redact in part or withhold entirely from publication submitted material that is obscene or subject to copyright protection. All submissions should refer to File Number SR-CTA/CQ-2026-01 and should be submitted on or before May 13, 2026.