- 'Black Swan' Shuns Public Life Because of Bernanke
- Look Ahead: Markets Count Down to US Jobs Report
- FHA to Toughen Mortgage Rules in Lenders Crackdown
- Obama to Send More Troops; Seeks Afghanistan Exit
- GM Removes CEO Henderson; Whitacre Is Interim Chief
- UK Economy Turned, Inflation to Spike: BoE Economist
- Who Were the Biggest Winners And Losers This Year?
- GE, Comcast Complete Deal Over NBC Universal: Source
- Case Closed but Woods Scrutiny Continues
- Unemployment to Peak at 10.5%: Moody's Economist
- 8 Stocks to Gain on Obama's Afghan Plan: Analysts
- BofA On Proposed Changes In The Housing Bailout Program
- The Future of The Media Landscape
- November Auto Sales Muddle Along
- Busch: What Obama Won't Say Tonight
- Stick with Equities—Avoid Emerging Markets: Laszlo Birinyi
- Pfizer Chomps On A Carrot
- Predictions 2010: Technology
MOST SHARED
- Keeping America Great
- Cisco Has 84% of Tandberg, Won't Extend Bid
- Kohlberg Kravis Bidding for Morgan Stanley's CICC Stake
- Case Closed but Woods Scrutiny Continues
- UK Economy Turned, Inflation to Spike: BoE Economist
- Australia Regulator Opposes Caltex-Exxon Deal
- Hyundai's US Auto Sales Jump 46% in November
- Toyota Takes Lead Position in Canada in November
Text Size 
As harrowing as the U.S. stock market's plunges have been in recent days, they still haven't been enough to trigger the "circuit breaker" mechanisms that result in an automatic timeout in trading.
The Big Board implemented the automatic halts after the stock market crashed in the late 1980s to force traders to take a break from frenzied selling. But even amid the massive losses seen in the market this week, the thresholds have yet to be breached, unlike in many other nations which have temporarily suspended trading multiple times.
On Friday, the stock exchange in Vienna was suspended until midday after stocks tumbled 10 percent at the opening bell, and in Russia representatives of the MICEX and RTS exchanges said they suspended regular trading until further notice under orders from financial regulators.
Indonesian authorities suspended trading indefinitely on the Jakarta Stock Exchange after they had halted trading Wednesday after the index plunged more than 10 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average would have to fall 1,100 points in a day to trigger the first halt. Based on Thursday's Dow close of 8,579, the threshold number to cause the market to stop on Friday would be 7,479. If that point is reached before 2 p.m., the market will shut down for an hour. If the threshold is breached between 2 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., the halt will last 30 minutes. No trading stops would take place if the plunge occurs after 2:30 p.m.
If the index were to fall 2,200 points before 1 p.m., the market would close for two hours. If such a decline took place between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., there would be a one-hour pause. The market would close for the day if stocks sank to that level after 2 p.m.
In the event of a 3,350-point decline, the market would close for the day, regardless of the time.
The thresholds are computed at the beginning of each quarter to establish a specific point value for the quarter. The 1,100-point drop represented a 10 percent decline at that time; the 2,200 level, a 20 percent drop and the 3,350 level is a 30 percent drop.
The rules would halt trading on the major securities and futures exchanges in a coordinated cross-market halt if the circuit breaker is enacted.
Print
Email
- Will the Fed raise rates? Will the dollar continue its slide? CNBC experts weigh in on the year ahead.
- What may make this decade stand out are the extremes. After one of the worst global recessions ever, we take a look back.
- Goldman Sachs has forbidden employees from gathering in private holiday parties of 12 or more.
- Do you have what it takes to run your own business? Ask yourself these questions.
- Heavily armed pirates in Somalia have set up a sort of stock exhange to fund their hijackings.
- Since its launch in 1998, Google has become a primary force on the Internet. How much do you know about the company?
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes