(Adds trading curbs in Europe; Philippines and Thailand in
Asia)
March 18 (Reuters) - As the coronavirus outbreak and global
growth worries cause global stock markets to sink, stock
exchanges are tweaking trading rules to protect their markets
from intense volatility and speculative trading.
The Philippine Stock Exchange took a bold step to close its
financial markets on March 17 in response to coronavirus, while
many others around the world close trading floors or pause trade
after big falls. Here are some of the measures taken by exchanges in Europe
and Asia so far:
EUROPE
ITALY
** Market regulator Consob suspended short-selling on the
Milan stock market for three months. ** Spain imposed a one-month ban on short-selling, which it
said could be extended.
FRANCE
** France banned short-selling on 92 stocks on March 17
ASIA
THE PHILIPPINES
** The Philippines became the first country to suspend trade
on March 17 amid a broader national lockdown. ** The Philippine Stock Exchange said it will resume trading
on March 19.
** Currency and bond trading were also suspended. Currency
trading allowed to restart as early as March 18
THAILAND
** Revises circuit breaker rules to last until the end of
June at the latest
** New rules will see a 8% drop trigger a 30-minute halt in
trade; a 15% fall to initiate a 30-minute halt, while a 20%
plunge will see it halted for an hour
SOUTH KOREA
** South Korea tightened short-selling rules for three
months from March 11 ** Stocks with a sudden and abnormal increase in
short-selling transactions will be suspended from further
short-selling for 10 days, compared with a the current limit of
one day
** Stocks on the KOSPI that drop 5% or more and where daily
short-selling transactions are up by three or more times the
average of the previous 40 days will be subject to the new rule
** The exchange also briefly activated sidecar curbs on
March 12 for the first time in more than eight years to halt
programme trading INDONESIA
** Indonesia's stock exchange has tightened trading halt
mechanisms, where a more than 5% drop on its main stock index
.JKSE will see trading halted by 30 minutes, compared with the
10% previously
** If the index's losses extend to 10% when trading resumes,
it will be halted for a further half hour
** The exchange has also changed mechanisms for individual
stock prices, and trading will now be halted if there is a 10%
move, down from a previous 20-35%
** There is also a ban on short-selling: the exchange
removed all stocks on a list where it was allowed until further
notice