But some executives say they're already operating 24/7
Many PR executives should be bracing for new, unprecedented challenges if NASDAQ and NYSE stock exchanges extend their trading hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern time) to late into the night (and possibly around the clock).
NASDAQ is expected to be the first of the exchanges to expand its hours. The exchange's governing body announced in late May that it was preparing to extend its hours. The NYSE, by contrast, has put expansion plans on hold. But it's not a question of if extended trading will occur, but when.
The biggest effect would be in the timing of press releases, several investor relations professionals agree. Press releases that are considered to have a material effect on a business, (earnings, mergers, acquisitions, etc.) generally are made before or after the close of the U.S. markets. Occasionally, such "material" news needs to be disseminated during trading hours, necessitating the halt of trading.
Extended hours would mean many of those releases would be pushed later into the night, with an investor relations specialist needing to be available to handle press calls.
Extended trading hours means that investor relations professionals would need to monitor not only the stock prices of the companies they represent, but also that of competitors in the event of large price swings, says Michael Rosenbaum, president of the Financial Relations Board/BSMG Worldwide, the country's largest investor relations firm.
While the timing of sensitive releases might need to be pushed later, extended hours could also mean extended deadlines for some news outlets. That could enable companies to disseminate information to the press that would normally miss the current day's deadline, says Bill Murschel vice president of corporate relations for KeyCorp, the holding company for Key Bank, Cleveland. "It's a case of the glass being half empty or half full."
Murschel has been through the expansion of trading hours before. He was with the Chicago Board of Trade when it extended its hours until 9 p.m. in the late 1980s in order to compete more effectively with Asian markets. When that occurred, the CBOT brought in an additional PR executive to work a noon to 9 p.m. shift to help handle the late calls. Key Corp. and other U.S. firms would likely follow a similar policy, Murschel predicts.
"We have somebody now who monitors our stock price, following any spikes in the price of our stock," Murschel says.
By monitoring the stock price, the bank's public relations department can better plan for media calls.
Rosenbaum also suggests that extended hours trading could mean more and later shifts for public relations specialists, particularly those involved in investor relations.
Some companies, however, expect little effect, because their shares already trade around the clock, with significant activity in Asian and European markets while Wall Street is sleeping.
"Our stock has been trading 24 hours a day for more than five years," says Libba Letton, PR specialist for Dell Corp., Round Rock, Texas. The same is true of many other major U.S. companies, as well as of some smaller ones. "Our internal PR department already has people who work outside of normal business hours. They all have their pager numbers listed on their business cards."
Mark Tomasch, senior director of corporate relations for LTV Corp., Cleveland, added that he expects the Securities & Exchange Commission to issue information dissemination guidelines for the extended hours that would be similar to those now in place for the current trading hours.
Such a change would also mean changes for the professionals of the exchanges themselves.
"It would probably mean an expanded staff, though not to the level we have during the day," says Andy MacMillan, senior vice president of corporate communications for the National Association of Securities Dealers, the parent company of the NASDAQ and American stock exchanges. "We would need to be there to discuss trading halts, market statistics, etc. But that's not nearly as much work as we do during the rest of the day."
(Libba Letton, Dell Corp., 512/728-4100; Michael Rosenbaum, Financial Relations Board/BSMG Worldwide, 312/266-7800; Bill Murschel, KeyCorp, 216/689-0457; Mark Tomasch, LTV, 216/622-4635; Andy MacMillan, NASD, 212/858-4150)
For updates on this issue, check out:
http://www.nasdaq-amexnews.com
http://www.nyse.com/public/thenyse/1d/1dix.htm