Brussels, 11/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - In order to prevent insider dealing, any person working in financial markets must make public information of a precise nature that he/she holds and that could affect share prices. The Court of Justice of the EU has just ruled in case C-628/13 on Wednesday 11 March that this applies to all information that could affect share prices, even though it does not indicate precisely whether values will rise or fall.
This case, which relates to a fine imposed on the Wendel company by the Autorité française des marchés financiers (the French financial markets authority) (see EUROPE 11222) was referred to the European Court by the French Cour de cassation, which asked whether information of a precise nature, within the meaning of the European directives on insider dealing and market abuse (2003/6/EC and 2003/124/EC), is only that which makes it possible to predict, with a sufficient degree of probability, that its potential influence on the financial instruments concerned will operate in a certain direction once it has been made public.
The Court here followed to the letter the opinion delivered by Advocate General Melchior Wathelet in December 2014. The judges ruled that it is not apparent from the wording of the directives that “precise” information covers only information which makes it possible to determine the likely direction of a change in the prices of the financial instruments concerned. It is sufficient that it has an effect on the instruments, thus distinguishing it from “vague” or “general” information. Any other reasoning would mean that the holder of that information could use any uncertainty in that regard as a pretext for refraining from making certain information public and thus profit from that information to the detriment of the other actors on the market, the Court stated. (Jan Kordys)