[ by Howard Haykin ]

NYSE Rule 1000 was amended for immediate effectiveness to increase the price threshold for those securities ineligible for automatic executions from $1,000 to $10,000 or more.   The change to Rule 1000(a)(vi), “Automatic Executions,”  increases the price level at which a security would be considered “high-priced” and thus ineligible for automatic execution. 

Rule 1000(a)(vi) prohibits automatic executions if the closing price for a security, or if the security did not trade, the closing bid price of the security on the Exchange on the immediate previous trading day, is $1,000 or more.  The Exchange is proposing to increase this price level from $1,000 or more to $10,000 or more.

The Exchange will make a conforming amendment ...   to Rule 60(d)(iii)(B)(I), which provides that the Exchange keeps Autoquote active, even if automatic executions are suspended under Rule 1000, if an order or a cancellation of an order arrives that would not result in a locked or crossed market in a security priced at $1,000 or more.  The Exchange proposes to increase this price level to $10,000 or more to conform the provision to the proposed amendment to Rule 1000(a)(vi).

Securities priced at $1,000 or more are traded manually ...  by the assigned Designated Market Maker (“DMM”). Rule 610 of Regulation NMS under the Act prohibits national securities exchanges and national securities associations from locking or crossing protected quotations, and Rule 611 of Regulation NMS prohibits trade-throughs only of protected quotations. Rule 600 of Regulation NMS, however, requires a protected quotation to be automated. The Exchange’s quotations in high-priced securities, therefore, are not protected quotations for purposes of Regulation NMS. The proposed rule change would allow the affected securities to be eligible for automatic execution and auto-quoting, which would allow the Exchange to protect its quotations and remain competitive with other market centers. For the affected securities, the proposal would align the availability of automatic executions on the Exchange with the availability of such executions on other exchanges.

For further details, go to:   [ NYSE Rule Filing 13-41, 6/7/13 ].