US Earnings Report Shift Would Stoke Volatility: Markets Pulse

Investors should brace for more volatile trading on the S&P 500 if companies adopt a proposal to report earnings twice instead of four times a year, according to the latest Markets Pulse survey.

The Securities and Exchange Commission unveiled a proposal last week to allow US companies to choose to report earnings semiannually. Should that come to pass, equities will see broader swings, according to 61% of the 133 respondents to a poll conducted May 5-12.

Participants said if the plan goes through they’d expect the VIX index, a measure of S&P 500 volatility, trade at ...