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[Release No. 34-106375; File No. SR-PEARL-2026-39]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; MIAX PEARL, LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate

Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change to Amend Rule 2628 Concerning the Resumption of

Trading Following a Level 3 Market-Wide Circuit Breaker Halt in Connection with the

Industry’s Expansion of Trading Hours to 23 Hours Per Day, 5 Days Per Week

September 15, 2026.

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act”) 1 and Rule

19b-4 thereunder,2 notice is hereby given that, on September 3, 2026, MIAX PEARL, LLC

(“MIAX Pearl” or the “Exchange”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the

“Commission”) the proposed rule change as described in Items I and II below, which Items have

been prepared by the self-regulatory organization. The Commission is publishing this notice to

solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons.

Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed

Rule Change

The Exchange to amend Rule 2628 (“Trading Halts Due to Extraordinary Market

Volatility”) concerning the resumption of trading following a Level 3 market-wide circuit

breaker halt in connection with the industry’s expansion of trading hours to 23 hours per day, 5

days per week. The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange’s website at

https://www.miaxglobal.com/markets/us-equities/pearl-equities/rule-filings, and at MIAX

Pearl’s principal office.

15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).

17 CFR 240.19b-4.

II.

Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the

Proposed Rule Change

In its filing with the Commission, MIAX Pearl included statements concerning the

purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the

proposed rule change. The text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in

Item IV below. MIAX Pearl has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of

the most significant aspects of such statements.

Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis

for, the Proposed Rule Change

Purpose

The Exchange proposes to amend Rule 2628 (“Trading Halts Due to Extraordinary

Market Volatility”) concerning the resumption of trading following a Level 3 market-wide

circuit breaker (“MWCB”) halt (“Level 3 Market Decline”) in connection with the industry’s

expansion of trading hours to 23 hours per day, 5 days per week (“23/5 Trading”). Some

exchanges are planning to offer overnight trading, 3 and as a result, the uniform Level 3 Market

Decline rules of each exchange are being modified, as explained further below.

Background

The MWCB mechanism under Rule 2628 provides an important, automatic mechanism

that is invoked to promote stability and investor confidence during a period of significant stress

when U.S. securities markets experience extreme broad-based declines. All U.S. equity

exchanges and FINRA (collectively, the self-regulatory organizations or “SROs”) adopted

uniform rules relating to the MWCB mechanism in 2012, which are designed to slow the effects

of extreme price movement through coordinated trading halts across U.S. securities markets

See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release No. 105532 (May 21, 2026), 91 FR 31509 (May 27, 2026) (SRNYSEARCA-2026-53) (“NYSE Arca 23/5 Trading Notice”).

when severe price declines reach levels that may exhaust market liquidity. 4 Such market-wide

circuit breakers provide for trading halts in all U.S. cash equity and equities options markets

during a severe market decline as measured by a single-day decline in the S&P 500 Index during

regular trading hours.

Pursuant to Rule 2628, a market-wide trading halt will be triggered if the S&P 500 Index

declines in price by specified percentages from the prior day’s closing price of that index.

Currently, the triggers are set at three circuit breaker thresholds: 7% (Level 1), 13% (Level 2),

and 20% (Level 3). A market decline that triggers a Level 1 or Level 2 halt after 9:30 a.m. ET

and before 3:25 p.m. ET would halt market-wide trading for 15 minutes, while a similar market

decline at or after 3:25 p.m. ET would not halt market-wide trading. If a Level 3 Market Decline

occurs at any time during the trading day, trading in all stocks will halt on the Exchange for the

remainder of the trading day, and will resume the following trading day at 4:00 a.m. ET.

Proposal

The Exchange now proposes to amend Rule 2628 to reflect extended trading hours under

23/5 Trading. On December 6, 20206 [sic], several exchanges intend to offer new overnight

trading sessions that would be available from 9:00 p.m. ET to 4:00 a.m. ET, increasing their

hours of operation.

As discussed, consistent with the uniform rules in place across all SROs, current Rule

2628(b)(2) provides that if a Level 3 Market Decline occurs at any time during the trading day,

the Exchange shall halt trading in all stocks on the Exchange for the remainder of the trading

See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 67090 (May 31, 2012), 77 FR 33531 (June 6, 2012) (SR-BATS2011-038; SR-BYX-2011-025; SR-BX-2011-068; SR-CBOE-2011-087; SR-C2-2011-024; SR-CHX-201130; SR-EDGA-2011-31; SR-EDGX-2011-30; SR-FINRA-2011-054; SR-ISE-2011-61; SR-NASDAQ2011-131; SR-NSX-2011-11; SR-NYSE-2011-48; SR-NYSEAmex-2011-73; SR-NYSEArca-2011-68; SRPhlx-2011-129) (“MWCB Approval Order”).

day. Currently, that means that the earliest that any exchange would re-open trading after a Level

3 Market Decline is 4:00 a.m. ET the following day, since no SROs are open for trading before

4:00 a.m. ET.

Unless amended, when 23/5 Trading is launched, the current rule’s reference to halting

“for the remainder of the trading day”5 would require SROs participating in 23/5 Trading to reopen trading at an earlier time, i.e., 9:00 p.m. ET on the same calendar day, when those SROs’

systems would generally become available for overnight trading. The Exchange does not believe

that this is an expected or desired result and is therefore amending this rule in coordination with

the other SROs such that trading on any SRO will not resume until 4:00 a.m. ET or later on the

following trading day, consistent with current market practice. This proposed rule change is

therefore not intended to make any substantive changes to the MWCB mechanism. Rather, the

proposed rule change would preserve the current resumption time following a Level 3 Market

Decline.

To effect this change, the Exchange proposes to delete the language in Rule 26258(b)(2)

[sic] that provides that trading in all stocks will halt on the Exchange “for the remainder of the

trading day” if a Level 3 Market Decline occurs at any time during the trading day, and replace it

with new language that explicitly provides that trading in all stocks would halt on the Exchange

until 4:00 a.m. ET or later on the following trading day.

Implementation

The Exchange plans to implement the proposed rule change on December 6, 2026, the

date on which several exchanges intend to offer new overnight trading sessions that would be

available from 9:00 p.m. ET to 4:00 a.m. ET.

See Rule 2628(b)(2).

Statutory Basis

The Exchange believes that its proposal is consistent with Section 6(b) of the Act, 6 in

general, and furthers the objectives of Section 6(b)(5) of the Act, 7 in particular, in that it is

designed to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to remove impediments to and perfect

the mechanism of a free and open market and a national market system, and, in general to protect

investors and the public interest.

The MWCB mechanism described in Rule 2628 is an important, automatic mechanism

that is invoked to promote stability and investor confidence during periods of significant stress

when U.S. securities markets experience extreme broad-based declines. The proposed rule

change, when applied uniformly by all SROs, would ensure that the current 4:00 a.m. ET

resumption time following a Level 3 halt continues to apply under 23/5 Trading, notwithstanding

current rule text implying that the resumption time would coincide with the start of overnight

trading on SROs operating an overnight session.

Rather than leave the rule in place as is, which would result in an earlier resumption time

than originally contemplated when the rule was adopted, the Exchange, the other U.S. equity

exchanges, and FINRA met alongside industry representatives to determine the appropriate

resumption time. Following those discussions, the collective decision was made to retain the

4:00 a.m. ET resumption time, notwithstanding the fact that an earlier resumption time would be

possible with the introduction of 23/5 Trading. The proposed rule change codifies this decision

into the Exchange’s rules. The Exchange understands that the other SROs will also be filing

similar proposed rule changes. As a result, the market as a whole, including on- and off-

15 U.S.C. 78f(b).

15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).

exchange, will continue to be subject to harmonized rules for the resumption of trading following

a Level 3 Market Decline.

While the SROs had previously decided to tie the resumption time following a Level 3

halt to the earliest SRO opening time, the upcoming transition to 23/5 Trading raises various

concerns that warrant a change from the current approach.

First, the Exchange notes that the MWCB mechanism was designed to provide a coolingoff period where market participants would be provided with additional time to evaluate the

market events that led to the decline before determining how to position their trading activity for

the next day. With the introduction of 23/5 Trading and the start of overnight trading on some

SROs at 9:00 p.m. ET, however, this cooling-off period could be materially shortened, reducing

one of the key benefits that the MWCB mechanism was designed to provide in the first place.

Rather than shorten the cooling-off period and risk this benefit, the Exchange believes the market

would be better served by a change to the length of the associated trading halt that mirrors

current market practice. Under the proposed rule, as is the case today, after a Level 3 halt, all

SROs would re-open trading at 4:00 a.m. ET or later, and no SRO would offer an overnight

trading session starting on the day of a Level 3 halt.

Second, overnight trading may be subject to different liquidity and participation

considerations than the current pre-market sessions that start at or after 4:00 a.m. ET. Notably,

while retail investors have expressed interest in overnight trading, the Exchange expects that

institutional investors will take more time to transition to a round-the-clock model. However,

such institutional participation may be of heightened importance following a Level 3 halt, as

these investors are likely to have views on the underlying market events that led to the Level 3

Market Decline in the first place. The Exchange is concerned that opening during hours that such

participants do not normally trade may impact the quality of price discovery at a time of

significant market volatility. Waiting until 4:00 a.m. ET to resume trading would facilitate

broader participation and therefore price discovery.

Finally, the Exchange notes that the Commission recently approved an amendment to the

Plan to Address Extraordinary Market Volatility (“LULD Plan”) that would establish new price

protections from 9:00 p.m. ET to 4:00 a.m. ET. 8 While these price bands would help to assure a

fair and orderly market during normal market conditions, it is possible that they would instead

prevent normal price discovery following a Level 3 Market Decline. Rather than allowing

trading to resume with such price bands in effect, which would represent a change from the

current trading reopening following a Level 3 Market Decline, the Exchange believes that

requiring SROs to wait until 4:00 a.m. ET or later to resume trading would ensure that price

discovery can occur unimpeded during pre-market trading, as it does today, which may further

inform prices going into the opening auction and regular market hours trading following a Level

3 halt.

Given the factors discussed above, the Exchange believes that trading in all securities on

the Exchange should not resume before 4:00 a.m. ET on the trading day after a Level 3 halt. This

decision, which the Exchange understands will also be reflected in the rules of the other SROs,

would promote a fair and orderly market at a time of significant market volatility, and thereby

protect investors and the public interest. In addition, while the actual Level 3 resumption time

would not be changing in practice – as proposed, the current resumption time and future

resumption time would both be 4:00 a.m. ET at the earliest – the Exchange believes that it is

See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 106042 (August 5, 2026), 91 FR 51515 (August 10, 2026) (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).

appropriate to amend its rules to ensure that its rules reflect the upcoming changes due to 23/5

Trading. Without this change, market participants may mistakenly believe that the Exchange

intends for trading to re-open on overnight trading exchanges at 9:00 p.m. ET following a Level

3 halt. The proposed rule change would therefore facilitate operational transparency while

providing for a fair and orderly market.

Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement on Burden on Competition

The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will impose any burden on

competition not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act because the

proposal would ensure the continued, uninterrupted operation of a consistent mechanism to halt

trading across U.S. securities markets. Further, the Exchange understands that the other SROs

intend to file proposed rule changes to ensure a consistent resumption time at 4:00 a.m. or later

ET across markets. Thus, the proposed rule change will help to ensure consistency across market

centers without implicating any competitive issues.

Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement on Comments on the Proposed Rule

Change Received from Members, Participants, or Others

Written comments were neither solicited nor received.

III.

Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for Commission Action

Because the foregoing proposed rule change does not: (i) significantly affect the

protection of investors or the public interest; (ii) impose any significant burden on competition;

and (iii) become operative for 30 days from the date on which it was filed, or such shorter time

as the Commission may designate, it has become effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)(iii) of

the Act9 and subparagraph (f)(6) of Rule 19b-4 thereunder.10

15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(iii).

17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b-4(f)(6) requires a self-regulatory organization to give the

Commission written notice of its intent to file the proposed rule change at least five business days prior to

At any time within 60 days of the filing of the proposed rule change, the Commission

summarily may temporarily suspend such rule change if it appears to the Commission that such

action is necessary or appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or

otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. If the Commission takes such action, the

Commission shall institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule should be

approved or disapproved.

IV.

Solicitation of Comments

Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views and arguments concerning the

foregoing, including whether the proposed rule change is consistent with the Act. Comments

may be submitted by any of the following methods:

Electronic Comments:

•

Use the Commission’s internet comment form

(https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or

•

Send an email to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include file number

SR-PEARL-2026-39 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-PEARL-2026-39. 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

the date of filing of the proposed rule change, or such shorter time as designated by the Commission. The

Exchange has satisfied this requirement.

all comments on the Commission’s internet website (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml).

Copies of the filing will be available for inspection and copying at the principal office of the

Exchange. 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-PEARL-2026-39 and should be submitted on or

before [INSERT DATE 21 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL

For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated

authority.11

Sherry R. Haywood,

Assistant Secretary.

17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.