Stock market today: SEC proposes ending Reg NMS trade-through rule
The SEC proposed rescinding Reg NMS Rules 611 and 610(e) on June 11, 2026, and separately delayed tick size, access fee and odd-lot compliance to November 2027.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date | June 11, 2026 |
| Proposal | Rescind Rule 611 (trade-through) and Rule 610(e) (locked/crossed quotes) |
| Press release | 2026-54 |
| Comment file | S7-2026-20 |
| Comment period | 60 days after Federal Register publication |
| Separate order | 34-105656: relief from Rules 600(b)(89)(i)(F), 610(c), 612 |
| New compliance date | First business day of November 2027 |
| Prior compliance date | November 1, 2026 |
The Securities and Exchange Commission took two steps on June 11, 2026 that bear directly on how orders in the stock market today are routed and priced. It proposed rescinding Rule 611 of Regulation NMS, the order protection or trade-through rule, along with Rule 610(e), which restricts locking and crossing quotations. In a separate order, it pushed back compliance with tick size, access fee and odd-lot rules adopted in 2024.
Rule 611 generally requires trading centers to prevent trades at prices worse than protected quotations displayed elsewhere. It has shaped U.S. equity routing for two decades, pushing brokers and exchanges to sweep across venues to honor the best displayed prices. Rule 610(e) works alongside it by limiting quotations that lock or cross another market’s displayed quote. The proposal would remove both, with related definitions and conforming changes. Chairman Paul S. Atkins said it was “high time” the Commission reviewed the rule’s unintended consequences, and framed the goal as simplifying market structure and reducing costs. Comments are due 60 days after Federal Register publication under file S7-2026-20.
The second action, Release No. 34-105656, extended temporary exemptive relief from amended Rules 600(b)(89)(i)(F), 610(c) and 612, which address odd-lot information, access fee caps and minimum pricing increments. Compliance moves to the first business day of November 2027, a year past the previous November 1, 2026 date. The Commission cited the number of other market-structure deadlines scheduled for the rest of 2026, including 23-hour weekday trading launches and Rule 605 compliance. Market participants had warned that stacking implementations risked errors, data-quality problems and routing instability.
The two actions point in the same direction: the SEC is rethinking parts of Regulation NMS while giving the industry more time before new pricing and fee rules take effect. Exchanges, brokers, market makers and alternative trading systems are all affected, since routing logic, fee schedules and quoting practices are built around these rules.
What to watch: the comment file for S7-2026-20, where exchanges and brokers are likely to split over whether removing order protection would fragment liquidity or lower costs, and any final action on the proposal. The November 2027 date is now the marker for tick size and access fee changes.
Prepared with AI assistance from public sources and reviewed under our editorial policy. Not investment advice.