```

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 220 (Thursday, November 14, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 90196-90201]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-26415]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-101555; File No. SR-NYSEAMER-2024-65]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE American LLC; Notice of 
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Amend 
Rule 903 To Allow For the Interval Between Strike Prices of Series of 
Options on Shares of the SPDR Gold Shares to be $1 or Greater and To 
Expand the Short Term Option Series Program To Permit the Listing of 
Two Monday Expirations for Options on Shares of the SPDR Gold Shares, 
iShares Silver Trust, and iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

November 7, 2024.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) \1\ of the Securities Exchange Act of 
1934 (``Act'') \2\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\3\ notice is hereby given 
that on November 4, 2024, NYSE American LLC (``Exchange'') filed with 
the Securities and Exchange Commission (``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.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 15 U.S.C. 78a.
    \3\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change

    The Exchange proposes to amend Rule 903 (Series of Options Open For 
Trading). The proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's 
website at www.nyse.com, at the principal office of the Exchange, and 
at the Commission's Public Reference Room.

II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

    In its filing with the Commission, the self-regulatory organization 
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 those statements may be examined at 
the places specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared 
summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most 
significant parts of such statements.

[[Page 90197]]

A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and the 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    The purpose of this filing is to amend Rule 903 (Series of Options 
Open For Trading). Specifically, the Exchange proposes to allow for the 
interval between strike prices of series of options on shares of SPDR 
Gold Shares (``GLD'') to be $1 or greater, including where the strike 
price is greater than $200, and to expand the Short Term Option Series 
(``STOS'') Program to permit the listing of two Monday expirations for 
options on GLD, iShares Silver Trust (``SLV''), and iShares 20+ Year 
Treasury Bond ETF (``TLT''). Both proposed changes are competitive and 
based on proposals submitted by Nasdaq ISE, LLC (``Nasdaq ISE'') and 
approved by the Commission.\4\
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    \4\ See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 100447 (June 28, 
2024), 89 FR 55239 (July 3, 2024) (SR-ISE-2024-17) (Order Approving 
a Proposed Rule Change To Amend the Strike Interval for Options on 
Exchange-Traded Fund Shares and To Allow $1 Strike Price Intervals 
Above $200 for Options on SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)) (``Nasdaq ISE GLD 
Approval''); and 100837 (August 27, 2024), 89 FR 71770 (September 3, 
2024) (SR-ISE-2024-21) (Notice of Filing of Amendment No. 1 and 
Order Granting Accelerated Approval of a Proposed Rule Change, as 
Modified by Amendment No. 1, to Adopt Rules to Permit the Listing of 
Two Monday Expirations for Options on SPDR Gold Shares, iShares 
Silver Trust, and iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF) (``Nasdaq ISE 
Monday Approval'', and collectively, ``Nasdaq ISE Approval 
Orders'').
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Expand $1 Strike Intervals for GLD
    First, the Exchange proposes to amend Rule 903 to allow for the 
interval between strike prices of series of options on GLD to be $1 or 
greater, including where the strike price is greater than $200, which 
would align Exchange rules with that of at least one of its 
competitors.\5\
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    \5\ See Nasdaq ISE GLD Approval.
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    Currently, Commentary .05(a) provides that for series of options on 
Exchange-Traded Fund Shares, ``the interval of strike prices may be $1 
or greater where the strike price is $200 or less or $5 or greater 
where the strike price is over $200.''
    Further, Commentary .05(d) provides that, notwithstanding any other 
provision of Rule 903 regarding the interval of strike prices of series 
of options on Exchange-Traded Fund Shares, the interval of strike 
prices on options on SPDR[supreg] S&P 500[supreg] ETF (``SPY''), 
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (``IVV''), PowerShares QQQ Trust (``QQQ''), 
iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund (``IWM''), and the SPDR[supreg] Dow 
Jones[supreg] Industrial Average ETF (``DIA'') will be $1 or greater.
    The Exchange proposes to modify the interval setting regime to be 
$1 or greater for GLD options, which would align GLD with SPY, IVV, 
QQQ, IWM and DIA.\6\ The Exchange believes that the proposed rule 
change would make GLD options easier for investors and traders to use 
and more tailored to their investment needs. GLD is an Exchange-Traded 
Fund Shares designed to closely track the price and performance of the 
price of gold bullion. GLD is widely quoted as an indicator of gold 
stock prices and is a significant indicator of overall economic health. 
Investors use GLD to diversify their portfolios and benefit from market 
trends. Additionally, GLD is a leading product in its asset class that 
trades within a ``complex'' where, in addition to the underlying 
security, there are multiple instruments available for hedging such as, 
COMEX Gold Futures; Gold Daily Futures; iShares GOLD Trust; SPDR GOLD 
Minishares Trust; Aberdeen Physical Gold Trust; and GraniteShares Gold 
Shares.
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    \6\ See proposed Rule 903, Commentary .05(d) (including GLD in 
the list of ETFs eligible for strike prices of $1 or greater, 
including when the strike price is greater than $200.
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    Accordingly, the Exchange believes that offering a wider base of 
GLD options affords traders and investors important hedging and trading 
opportunities, particularly in the midst of current price trends. The 
Exchange believes that not having the proposed $1 strike price 
intervals above $200 in GLD significantly constricts investors' hedging 
and trading possibilities. The Exchange therefore believes that by 
having smaller strike intervals in GLD, investors would have more 
efficient hedging and trading opportunities due to the lower $1 
interval ascension. The proposed $1 interval above the $200 strike 
price, will result in having at-the-money series based upon the 
underlying Exchange-Traded Fund Share moving less than 1%. The Exchange 
believes that the proposed strike setting regime is in line with the 
slower movements of broad-based indices. Given that $1 intervals 
already exist below the $200 price point and that GLD have consistently 
inclined in price toward the $200 level, the Exchange believes that 
continuing to maintain the current $200 level (above which intervals 
increase 500% to $5), may have a negative effect on investing, trading 
and hedging opportunities, and volume. The Exchange believes that the 
investing, trading, and hedging opportunities available with GLD 
options far outweighs any potential negative impact of allowing GLD 
options to trade in more finely tailored intervals above the $200 price 
point.
    The proposed strike setting regime would permit strikes to be set 
to more closely reflect the increasing value in the underlying and 
allows investors and traders to roll open positions from a lower strike 
to a higher strike in conjunction with the price movements of the 
underlying ETF. Under the current rule, where the next higher available 
series would be $5 away above a $200 strike price, the ability to roll 
such positions would be impaired. Accordingly, to move a position from 
a $200 strike to a $205 strike under the current rule, an investor 
would need for the underlying product to move 2.5% and would not be 
able to execute a roll up until such a large movement occurred. The 
Exchange believes that with the proposed rule change, the investor 
would be in a significantly safer position of being able to roll his 
open options position from a $200 to a $201 strike price, which is only 
a 0.5% move for the underlying. As a result, the proposed rule change 
will allow the Exchange to better respond to customer demand for GLD 
strike price more precisely aligned with the smaller, longer-term 
incremental increases in the underlying ETF. The Exchange believes that 
the proposed rule change, like the other strike price programs 
currently offered by the Exchange, will benefit investors by providing 
investors the flexibility to more closely tailor their investment and 
hedging decisions using GLD options.
    Moreover, by allowing series of GLD options to be listed in $1 
intervals between strike prices over $200, the proposal will moderately 
augment the potential total number of options series available on the 
Exchange. However, the Exchange believes it and the Options Price 
Reporting Authority (``OPRA'') have the necessary systems capacity to 
handle any potential additional traffic associated with this proposed 
rule change. The Exchange also believes that market participants will 
not have a capacity issue due to the proposed rule change. In addition, 
the Exchange represents that it does not believe that this expansion 
will cause fragmentation of liquidity, but rather, believes that finer 
strike intervals will serve to increase liquidity available as well as 
price efficiency by providing more trading opportunities for all market 
participants.
Expand STOS Program To Add Monday Expirations
    The Exchange proposes to expand the Short Term Option Daily 
Expirations to permit the listing of two Monday

[[Page 90198]]

expirations of options on GLD, SLV, and TLT (collectively ``Exchange 
Traded Products'' or ``ETPs''),\7\ which would align Exchange rules 
with that of at least one of its competitors.\8\
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    \7\ Today, the Exchange permits the listing of two Wednesday 
expirations for options on United States Oil Fund, LP (``USO''), 
United States Natural Gas Fund, LP (``UNG''), GLD, SLV, and TLT. See 
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 100272 (June 4, 2024), 89 FR 
48925 (June 10, 2024) (SR-NYSEAMER-2024-34).
    \8\ See Nasdaq ISE Monday Approval.
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    Currently, as set forth in Rule 903(h), after an option class has 
been approved for listing and trading on the Exchange, the Exchange may 
open for trading on any Thursday or Friday that is a business day 
(``Short Term Option Opening Date'') series of options on that class 
that expire at the close of business on each of the next five Fridays 
that are business days and are not Fridays on which standard expiration 
options series, Monthly Options Series, or Quarterly Options Series 
expire (``Friday Short Term Option Expiration Dates''). The Exchange 
may have no more than a total of five Short Term Option Expiration 
Dates. Further, if the Exchange is not open for business on the 
respective Thursday or Friday, the Short Term Option Opening Date for 
Short Term Option Weekly Expirations will be the first business day 
immediately prior to that respective Thursday or Friday. Similarly, if 
the Exchange is not open for business on a Friday, the Short Term 
Option Expiration Date for Short Term Option Weekly Expirations will be 
the first business day immediately prior to that Friday.
    Additionally, the Exchange may open for trading series of options 
on the symbols provided in Table 1 of Commentary .10(f) to Rule 903 
(``Table 1'') that expire at the close of business on each of the next 
two Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, respectively, that 
are business days and are not business days in which monthly options 
series or Quarterly Options Series expire (``Short Term Option Daily 
Expirations'').\9\ For those symbols listed in Table 1, the Exchange 
may have no more than a total of two Short Term Option Daily 
Expirations beyond the current week for each of Monday, Tuesday, 
Wednesday, and Thursday expirations, as applicable, at one time.
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    \9\ As set forth in Table 1, the Exchange currently only permits 
Wednesday expirations for USO, UNG, GLD, SLV, and TLT.
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    At this time, the Exchange proposes to expand the Short Term Option 
Daily Expirations to permit the listing and trading of options on GLD, 
SLV, and TLT expiring on Mondays. The Exchange proposes to permit two 
Short Term Option Expiration Dates beyond the current week for each 
Monday expiration at one time, and would update Table 1 for each of 
those symbols accordingly.\10\
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    \10\ See proposed Commentary .10(f) to Rule 903 (updating Table 
1).
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    The proposed Monday GLD, SLV, and TLT expirations will be similar 
to the current Monday SPY, QQQ, and IWM Short Term Option Daily 
Expirations set forth in Rule 903(h), such that the Exchange may open 
for trading on any Friday or Monday that is a business day (beyond the 
current week) series of options on GLD, SLV, and TLT to expire on any 
Monday of the month that is a business day and is not a Monday on which 
standard expiration options series, Monthly Options Series, or 
Quarterly Options Series expire, provided that Monday expirations that 
are listed on a Friday must be listed at least one business week and 
one business day prior to the expiration (``Monday GLD Expirations,'' 
``Monday SLV Expirations,'' and ``Monday TLT Expirations'') 
(collectively, ``Monday ETP Expirations'').\11\ In the event Short Term 
Option Daily Expirations expire on a Monday and that Monday is the same 
day that a standard expiration options series, Monthly Options Series, 
or Quarterly Options Series expires, the Exchange would skip that 
week's listing and instead list the following week; the two weeks would 
therefore not be consecutive. Today, Monday expirations in SPY, QQQ, 
and IWM similarly skip the weekly listing in the event the weekly 
listing expires on the same day in the same class as a standard 
expiration options series, Monthly Options Series, or Quarterly Options 
Series.
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    \11\ Today, USO, UNG, GLD, SLV, and TLT may trade on Wednesdays. 
See id. They may also trade on Fridays, as is the case for all 
options series in the STOS Program.
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    The interval between strike prices for the proposed Monday ETP 
Expirations will be the same as those currently applicable the STOS 
Program.\12\ Specifically, the Monday ETP Expirations will have a 
strike interval of (i) $0.50 or greater for strike prices below $100, 
and $1 or greater for strike prices between $100 and $150 for all 
option classes that participate in the STOS Program, (ii) $0.50 for 
option classes that trade in one dollar increments and are in the STOS 
Program, or (iii) $2.50 or greater for strike prices above $150.\13\ As 
is the case with other equity options series listed pursuant to the 
STOS Program, the Monday ETP Expirations series will be P.M.-settled.
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    \12\ See Commentary .10(e) to Rule 903.
    \13\ See Commentary .10(d) to Rule 903.
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    Pursuant to Rule 903(h), with respect to the STOS Program, if a 
Monday is not a business day, the series will expire on the first 
business day immediately following that Monday.
    Currently, for each option class eligible for participation in the 
STOS Program, the Exchange is limited to opening thirty (30) series for 
each expiration date for the specific class.\14\ The thirty (30) series 
restriction does not include series that are open by other securities 
exchanges under their respective weekly rules; the Exchange may list 
these additional series that are listed by other options exchanges.\15\ 
With the proposed changes, this thirty (30) series restriction would 
apply to Monday GLD, SLV, and TLT Short Term Option Daily Expirations 
as well. In addition, the Exchange will be able to list series that are 
listed by other exchanges, assuming that they file similar rules with 
the Commission to list Monday ETP Expirations.
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    \14\ See Commentary .07(c) to Rule 903.
    \15\ Id.
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    With this proposal, Monday ETP Expirations would be treated 
similarly to existing Monday SPY, QQQ, and IWM Expirations. With 
respect to standard expiration options series, Short Term Option Daily 
Expirations will be permitted to expire in the same week in which 
Monthly Option Series on the same class expire. Not listing Short Term 
Option Daily Expirations for one week every month because there was a 
monthly on that same class on the Friday of that week would create 
investor confusion.
    Further, as with Monday SPY, QQQ, and IWM Expirations, the Exchange 
would not permit Monday ETP Expirations to expire on a business day in 
which standard expiration options series, Monthly Options Series, or 
Quarterly Options Series expire.\16\ Therefore, all Short Term Option 
Daily Expirations would expire at the close of business on each of the 
next two Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, respectively, 
that are business days beyond the current week and are not business 
days in which standard expiration option series, Monthly Options 
Series, or Quarterly Options Series expire. The Exchange believes that 
it is reasonable to not permit two expirations on the same day in which 
a standard expiration option series, Monthly Options Series, a 
Quarterly Options Series would expire

[[Page 90199]]

because those options would be duplicative of each other.
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    \16\ See Commentary .10(f) to Rule 903.
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    The Exchange does not believe that any market disruptions will be 
encountered with the introduction of Monday ETP Expirations. The 
Exchange currently trades P.M.-settled Short Term Option Series that 
expire on Monday for SPY, QQQ, and IWM and has not experienced any 
market disruptions nor issues with capacity. In addition, the Exchange 
has not experienced any market disruptions or issues with capacity in 
expanding the five ETPs to the Wednesday expirations.\17\ Today, the 
Exchange has surveillance programs in place to support and properly 
monitor trading in Short Term Option Series that expire Monday for SPY, 
QQQ, and IWM. Further, the Exchange has the necessary capacity and 
surveillance programs in place to support and properly monitor trading 
in the proposed Monday ETP Expirations.
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    \17\ The currently Exchange permits the listing of two Wednesday 
expirations for options on GLD, SLV, and TLT. See id.
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    Because the Exchange proposes to limit the number of Monday 
Expirations for options on GLD, SLV, and TLT to two expirations beyond 
the current week, the Exchange believes that the addition of these 
Monday ETP Expirations should encourage Market-Makers to continue to 
deploy capital more efficiently and improve displayed market quality. 
Similar to SPY, QQQ and IWM Monday Expirations, the introduction of 
Monday ETP Expirations will, among other things, expand hedging tools 
available to market participants and allow for a reduced premium cost 
of buying portfolio protection. The Exchange believes that Monday ETP 
Expirations will allow market participants to hedge their portfolios 
with options on commodities (gold and silver) as well as treasury 
securities, and tailor their investment and hedging needs more 
effectively.
2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that its proposed rule change is consistent 
with the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder applicable to the 
Exchange and, in particular, the requirements of Section 6(b) of the 
Act.\18\ Specifically, the Exchange believes that its proposed rule 
change is consistent with Section 6(b)(5) \19\ requirements in that it 
is designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, 
to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to foster 
cooperation and coordination with persons engaged in regulating, 
clearing, settling, processing information with respect to, and 
facilitating transactions in, securities, 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.
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    \18\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)
    \19\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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Expand $1 Strike Intervals for GLD
    The Exchange believes the proposal to expand $1 strike intervals 
for GLD to include where the strike price is greater than $200 is 
consistent with Section 6(b)(5) of the Act and will promote just and 
equitable principles of trade because it will allow investors to use 
GLD options more easily, regardless of the strike price. The proposal 
will allow investors to better trade and hedge positions in GLD options 
where the strike price is greater than $200, thus ensuring that 
investors in both options are not at a disadvantage simply because of 
the strike price.
    The Exchange believes the proposed rule change is consistent with 
Section 6(b)(1) of the Act, which provides that the Exchange be 
organized and have the capacity to be able to carry out the purposes of 
the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder, and the rules of the 
Exchange.\20\ The proposal allows the Exchange to respond to customer 
demand to allow GLD options to trade in $1 intervals above a $200 
strike price. The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule 
would create additional capacity issues or affect market functionality. 
As noted above, ETF options trade in wider $5 intervals above a $200 
strike price, whereby options at or below a $200 strike price trade in 
$1 intervals. This creates a situation where contracts on the same 
option class effectively may not be able to execute certain strategies 
such as, for example, rolling to a higher strike price, simply because 
of the $200 strike price above which options intervals increase by 
500%. This proposal remedies the situation by establishing an exception 
to the current ETF interval regime for GLD options to allow such 
options to trade in $1 or greater intervals at all strike prices.
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    \20\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(1).
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    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change, like other 
strike price programs currently offered by the Exchange, will benefit 
investors by giving them increased flexibility to more closely tailor 
their investment and hedging decisions. By way of example, GLD is a 
leading product in its asset class and it trades within a ``complex'' 
where, in addition to the underlying security, there are multiple 
instruments available for hedging such as, COMEX Gold Futures; Gold 
Daily Futures; iShares GOLD Trust; SPDR GOLD Minishares Trust; Aberdeen 
Physical Gold Trust; and GraniteShares Gold Shares.
    With regard to the impact of this proposal on system capacity, the 
Exchange believes it and OPRA have the necessary systems capacity to 
handle any potential additional traffic associated with this proposed 
rule change. The Exchange believes that its TPHs will not have a 
capacity issue as a result of this proposal. Further, the Exchange does 
not believe the proposal does not unfairly discriminate among market 
participants, as all market participants will be treated in the same 
manner under this proposal.
    Finally, the Exchange notes the proposed rule change is 
substantively identical to an approved Nasdaq ISE rule.\21\
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    \21\ See Nasdaq ISE GLD Approval.
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Expand STOS Program To Add Monday Expirations
    Similar to Monday expirations in SPY, QQQ, and IWM, the proposal to 
permit Monday ETP Expirations, subject to the proposed limitation of 
two expirations beyond the current week, would protect investors and 
the public interest by providing the investing public and other market 
participants more choice and flexibility to closely tailor their 
investment and hedging decisions in these options and allow for a 
reduced premium cost of buying portfolio protection, thus allowing them 
to better manage their risk exposure. The Exchange believes that there 
is general demand for alternative expirations in these symbols.
    The Exchange represents that it has an adequate surveillance 
program in place to detect manipulative trading in the proposed option 
expirations, in the same way that it monitors trading in the current 
Short Term Option Series for Monday SPY, QQQ and IWM expirations. The 
Exchange also represents that it has the necessary system capacity to 
support the new expirations. Finally, the Exchange does not believe 
that any market disruptions will be encountered with the introduction 
of these option expirations. As discussed above, the Exchange believes 
that its proposal is a modest expansion of weekly expiration dates for 
GLD, SLV, and TLT given that it will be limited to two Monday 
expirations beyond the current week.
    The Exchange believes that the proposal is consistent with the Act 
as

[[Page 90200]]

the proposal would overall add a small number of Monday ETP Expirations 
by limiting the addition of two Wednesday expirations beyond the 
current week. The addition of Monday ETP Expirations would remove 
impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market by 
encouraging Market Makers to continue to deploy capital more 
efficiently and improve market quality. The Exchange believes that the 
proposal will allow market participants to expand hedging tools and 
tailor their investment and hedging needs more effectively in GLD, SLV, 
and TLT as these funds are most likely to be utilized by market 
participants to hedge the underlying asset classes. The ETPs currently 
trade within ``complexes'' where, in addition to the underlying 
security, there are multiple instruments available for hedging. Given 
the multi-asset class nature of these products and available hedges in 
highly correlated instruments, the Exchange believes that its proposal 
to add Monday expirations on these products will provide market 
participants with additional useful hedging tools for the underlying 
asset classes.
    Similar to Monday SPY, QQQ, and IWM expirations, the introduction 
of Monday ETP Expirations is consistent with the Act as it will, among 
other things, expand hedging tools available to market participants and 
allow for a reduced premium cost of buying portfolio protection. The 
Exchange believes that Monday ETP Expirations will allow market 
participants to purchase options on GLD, SLV, and TLT based on their 
timing as needed and allow them to tailor their investment and hedging 
needs more effectively, thus allowing them to better manage their risk 
exposure. Today, the Exchange lists Monday SPY, QQQ, and IWM 
Expirations.\22\ In particular, the Exchange believes the STOS Program 
has been successful to date and that Monday ETP Expirations should 
simply expand the ability of investors to hedge risk against market 
movements stemming from economic releases or market events that occur 
throughout the month in the same way that the STOS Program has expanded 
the landscape of hedging.
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    \22\ See Commentary .10(f) to Rule 903, Table 1.
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    There are no material differences in the treatment of Monday SPY, 
QQQ, and IWM expirations compared to the proposed Monday ETP 
Expirations. Given the similarities between Monday SPY, QQQ, and IWM 
expirations and the proposed Monday ETP Expirations, the Exchange 
believes that applying the provisions in Commentary .10(f) to Rule 903, 
that currently apply to Monday SPY, QQQ, and IWM expirations is 
justified. For example, the Exchange believes that allowing Monday ETP 
Expirations and monthly ETP expirations in the same week will benefit 
investors and minimize investor confusion by providing Monday ETP 
Expirations in a continuous and uniform manner.
    Finally, the Exchange notes the proposed rule change is 
substantively identical to an approved Nasdaq ISE rule.\23\
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    \23\ See Nasdaq ISE Monday Approval.
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule changes will 
impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate 
in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
Expand $1 Strike Intervals for GLD
    The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will 
impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate 
in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. Rather, the Exchange 
believes that the proposed rule change will result in additional 
investment options and opportunities to achieve the investment and 
trading objectives of market participants seeking efficient trading and 
hedging vehicles, to the benefit of investors, market participants, and 
the marketplace in general. Specifically, the Exchange believes that 
GLD options investors and traders will significantly benefit from the 
availability of finer strike price intervals above a $200 price point. 
In addition, the interval setting regime the Exchange proposes to apply 
to GLD options is currently applied to SPY, IVV, QQQ, IWM and DIA 
options, which are similarly popular and widely traded ETF products and 
track indexes at similarly high price levels. Thus, the proposed strike 
setting regime for GLD options will allow options on this actively 
traded ETF with index levels at corresponding price levels to trade 
pursuant to the same strike setting regime. This will permit investors 
to employ similar investment and hedging strategies for each of these 
options.
    The Exchange does not believe the proposal will impose any burden 
on intermarket competition, as nothing prevents other options exchanges 
from proposing similar rules to make a finer strike price intervals 
above a $200 price point available for GLD options. The Exchange notes 
that the proposed rule change is not a novel proposal, as the 
Commission recently approved a substantively identical proposal of 
another exchange.\6\ Further, the Exchange does not believe the 
proposal will impose any burden on intramarket competition, as all 
market participants will be treated in the same manner under this 
proposal.
Expand STOS Program To Add Monday Expirations
    While the proposal will expand the Short Term Options Expirations 
to allow Monday ETP Expirations to be listed on the Exchange, the 
Exchange believes that this limited expansion for Monday expirations 
for options on GLD, SLV, and TLT will not impose an undue burden on 
competition; rather, it will meet customer demand. The Exchange 
believes that market participants will continue to be able to expand 
hedging tools and tailor their investment and hedging needs more 
effectively in GLD, SLV, and TLT.
    Similar to Monday SPY, QQQ, and IWM expirations, the introduction 
of Monday ETP Expirations does not impose an undue burden on 
competition. The Exchange believes that it will, among other things, 
expand hedging tools available to market participants and allow for a 
reduced premium cost of buying portfolio protection. The Exchange 
believes that Monday ETP Expirations will allow market participants to 
purchase options on GLD, SLV, and TLT based on their timing as needed 
and allow them to tailor their investment and hedging needs more 
effectively.
    The Exchange does not believe the proposal will impose any burden 
on inter-market competition, as nothing prevents the other options 
exchanges from proposing similar rules to list and trade Monday ETP 
Expirations. As noted above, the Commission recently approved a 
substantively identical proposal of another exchange.\24\ Further, the 
Exchange does not believe the proposal will impose any burden on 
intramarket competition, as all market participants will be treated in 
the same manner under this proposal.
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    \24\ See Nasdaq ISE Monday Approval.
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C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed 
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others

    No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the 
proposed rule change.

[[Page 90201]]

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) of the Act \25\ and Rule 19b-
4(f)(6) thereunder.\26\
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    \25\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \26\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b-4(f)(6)(iii) 
requires a self-regulatory organization to give the Commission 
written notice of its intent to file the proposed rule change, along 
with a brief description and text of the proposed rule change, at 
least five business days prior to the date of filing of the proposed 
rule change, or such shorter time as designated by the Commission. 
The Exchange has satisfied this requirement.
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    A proposed rule change filed pursuant to Rule 19b-4(f)(6) under the 
Act normally does not become operative for 30 days after the date of 
its filing. However, Rule 19b-4(f)(6)(iii) \27\ permits the Commission 
to designate a shorter time if such action is consistent with the 
protection of investors and the public interest. The Exchange has 
requested that the Commission waive the 30-day operative delay so that 
the proposal may become operative immediately upon filing. According to 
the Exchange, waiver of the operative delay will ensure fair 
competition among the exchanges by allowing the Exchange to implement 
its proposal without delay, thus creating competition among Short Term 
Option Series throughout the industry, which will ultimately benefit 
investors. The proposed rule change raises no novel legal or regulatory 
issues. Thus, the Commission believes that waiver of the 30-day 
operative delay is consistent with the protection of investors and the 
public interest. Accordingly, the Commission hereby waives the 30-day 
operative delay and designates the proposed rule change operative upon 
filing.\28\
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    \27\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6)(iii).
    \28\ For purposes only of waiving the 30-day operative delay, 
the Commission has also considered the proposed rule's impact on 
efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C. 
78c(f).
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    At any time within 60 days of the filing of such 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 [email protected]. Please include 
file number SR-NYSEAMER-2024-65 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-NYSEAMER-2024-65. 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 (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all 
written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are 
filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to 
the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other 
than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the 
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for website viewing and 
printing in the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, 
Washington, DC 20549 on official business days between the hours of 10 
a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing also 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-NYSEAMER-2024-65 and should 
be submitted on or before December 5, 2024.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\29\
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    \29\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12), (59).
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Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-26415 Filed 11-13-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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