The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has triggered a circuit breaker, temporarily pausing trading for the second time this week following President Donald Trump suspending travel from Europe to the US.
The S&P 500 index fell more than 7% after markets opened on Thursday, exceeding the NYSE’s performance threshold triggering a circuit breaker.
As a result, trading paused for 15 minutes. If the index's daily performance falls below 13%, trading will be paused for a further 15 minutes.
Before markets opened, President Donald Trump banned citizens from 26 European countries that make up the Schengen Area due to the threat of the coronavirus spreading further. The ban becomes effective at midnight on Friday.
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Circuit breakers were also activated on Monday morning in the US for the first time in 12 years following a failed oil production agreement between OPEC and Russia.
By 2pm on Thursday, the FTSE 100 fell 9.3%, exceeding the losses experienced on Monday of 7.3%