India markets regulator asks top 100 companies to confirm or deny market rumours from Oct.1

Logo of SEBI is seen on the facade of its head office building in Mumbai
The logo of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), India's market regulator, is seen on the facade of its head office building in Mumbai, India, July 13, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade

MUMBAI, March 29 (Reuters) - India's markets regulator on Wednesday asked that the top 100 companies listed on its stock exchanges confirm or deny market rumors that impact share prices, in a bid to bring more transparency and ensure timely disclosure of "material events".

The requirement will kick in from Oct.1, 2023 for top 100 companies by market capitalization, and from April 1, 2024 for the top 250, SEBI said in a press release following a board meeting.

The regulator said that it intends to put in place quantitative benchmarks to determine whether an event is material but did not immediately say what those metrics would be.

The SEBI also said that material events or disclosures emerging from a board of directors meeting must be disclosed to exchanges within 30 minutes.

Reporting by Jayshree P. Upadhyay; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee

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