SEC Proposes New Short-Selling Restrictions

From FIN
Just months after removing its restrictions on short-selling financial stocks, the Securities and Exchange Commission has unveiled five proposals to once again restrict short sales.

The regulator, under intense pressure from lawmakers to act, unanimously voted to propose several options for new short-selling rules, including the possible return of the uptick rule, which was abolished two years ago. The move opens a 60-day public comment period on the proposals.

The SEC is considering two approaches to curbing short sales. One set of proposals would impose market-wide restrictions, like the uptick rule, which barred a short sale unless the stock’s most recent trade was higher than its previous price. The other set of rules would only cover stocks whose price was falling fast.

The proposals included the refurbished uptick rule and a modified uptick rule, based on the Nasdaq Stock Market’s old bid test. The SEC also offered three different versions of a “circuit-breaker” rule, which would come into affect if a stock falls by 10% during a trading session, and would remain in effect for the rest of the session. The strictest of the rules would impose an outright ban on short-selling, the others would place either an uptick or bid test restriction.

---------------------------
From 鉅亨網:
美國證券交易委員會(SEC)周三無異議通過5種股市限制放空提案，包括適用於整體股市所有類股，類似先前廢除的平盤以下禁止放空禁令，以及限制放空跌幅過大的特定股。這些提案將經過60日公聽會徵詢意見後，考慮實行。

第1類提案，類似2007年廢除的大蕭條時期平盤以下禁止放空規定(uptick rule)，亦即交易員只能在某股最新收盤價格高於前日價格的情況下，才允許放空。

第2類提案，則類似Nasdaq市場2007年之前採用、專屬於該市場的放空禁令—「出價測試」(bid test)的修正版。這項規定禁止以較國內最高出價低的價格進行放空，適用於不少企業股票。這項放空價格測試限制當時經研究後，發現作用不大，而遭取消。

除此以外，SEC也提出另外3種所謂「斷路機制」(circuit-breaker)的禁止放空模式，包括限制在交易日結束前，若某一股跌幅超過10%的情況下，不得放空的各種規定。

一旦斷路機制被啟動，受到規範的特定股票在收盤前，交易員將受到平盤以下禁止放空、出價測試或直接禁止放空等3種不同規則限制。

related news: Others React to SEC Considering Restrictions on Short Sellers