2018-02981. Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq ISE, LLC; Notice of Designation of Longer Period for Commission Action on Proposed Rule Change To Permit the Listing and Trading of NQX Index Options on a Pilot Basis

February 8, 2018.

On December 6, 2017, Nasdaq ISE, LLC (“ISE” or “Exchange”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”), pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act”) ^[1] and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,^[2] a proposed rule change to permit the listing and trading of options based on 1/5 the value of the Nasdaq-100 Index on a pilot basis. The proposed rule change was published for comment in the Federal Register on December 26, 2017.^[3] On January 31, 2018, the Exchange filed Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule change.^[4] The Commission has received no comment letters on the proposal.

Section 19(b)(2) of the Act ^[5] provides that within 45 days of the publication of notice of the filing of a proposed rule change, or within such longer period up to 90 days as the Commission may designate if it finds such longer period to be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or as to which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission shall either approve the proposed rule change, disapprove the proposed rule change, or institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule change should be disapproved. The 45th day for this filing is February 9, 2018.

The Commission is extending the 45-day time period for Commission action on the proposed rule change. The Commission finds that it is appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider and take action on the Exchange's proposed rule change.

Accordingly, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act ^[6] and for the reasons stated above, the Commission designates March 26, 2018, as the date by which the Commission should either approve or disapprove, or institute proceedings to determine whether to disapprove, the proposed rule change (File No. SR-ISE-2017-106).

For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.^[7]

Eduardo A. Aleman,

Assistant Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).

2.  17 CFR 240.19b-4.

3.  See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 82362 (December 19, 2017), 82 FR 61090.

4.  In Amendment No. 1, the Exchange revised its proposal to: (1) Add that raw percentage price change data as well as percentage price change data normalized for prevailing market volatility, as measured by an appropriate index as agreed by the Commission and the Exchange, would be provided as part of the pilot data; and (2) revise the proposed duration of the pilot program such that the pilot would terminate on the earlier of: (i) Twelve months following the date of the first listing of the options; or (ii) June 30, 2019. When the Exchange filed Amendment No. 1 with the Commission, it also submitted Amendment No. 1 to the public comment file for SR-ISE-2017-106 (available at: https://www.sec.gov/​comments/​sr-ise-2017-106/​ise2017106.htm). Because Amendment No. 1 does not materially alter the substance of the proposed rule change or raise unique or novel regulatory issues, it is not subject to notice and comment.

5.  15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).

6.  15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).

7.  17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(31).