NSE begins Index Circuit Breakers Rule

By Chioma Obinagwam

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has said the Index Circuit Breakers Rule has commenced on January 15, 2016.

Recall that the Nigerian bourse which earlier deferred the effective date of commencement the rule, promised to announce it in due course.

“Please be reminded that on  1 December 2014, The Exchange deferred the effective date of the Trading Halts Due to Extraordinary Market Volatility postponed commencement of the (Index Circuit Breakers) Rule, and informed the market that it will announce the effective date of the Rule on a later date,” The NSE affirmed.

In retrospect, Nigeria’s apex capital market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 19, 2014, regulator approved the rule.

A circuit breaker on an exchange is a measure designed to prevent panic selling by stopping trading after a security or an index has fallen by a certain amount.