Stocks are tumbling sharply again after China announced retaliatory tariffs and a stronger-than-expected jobs report failed to alleviate worries about inflation. But the market would have to fall a lot further to trigger any trading halts.
The S&P 500 was down 3.2% in early trading Friday following a 4.8% drop Thursday. But according to the New York Stock Exchange, market-wide circuit breakers to temporarily halt trading would not kick in until the S&P 500 plummeted 7% from its prior closing level. That would mean the index would need to hit 5018.76.
If stocks were to fall that sharply, trading would be stopped for at least 15 minutes. The next trigger kicks in at a 13% slide, which would also cease trading for at least 15 minutes. The NYSE says that trading halts can only occur between the opening bell at 9:30 a.m. ET and 3:25 p.m. In other words, all bets are off during the final 35 minutes of trading.
