Circuit breakers

Measures instituted by exchanges to stop trading temporarily when the market has fallen by a certain percentage in a specified period. They are intended to prevent a market free fall by permitting buy and sell orders to rebalance.

Circuit Breaker

On an exchange, a measure designed to prevent panic selling by stopping trading after a security or an index has fallen by a certain amount. For example, if the Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 10% in a trading day, the New York Stock Exchange suspends trade for at least one hour. A circuit breaker is intended to allow investors to determine whether a situation is really as bad as it looks. It is sometimes called a collar. See also: Suspended trading.

All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.