Another Unthinkable Event

Is the unthinkable going to happen? What do I mean? How about the government closing the stock exchange to try to induce calm in the market. I am not talking about a circuit breaking close for a half an hour. I am referring to a multi day or week long halt. It's not as farfetched as it sounds, Roosevelt closed the banks in 1933.

Here are some major historical closing for the NYSE:

July 31 - Nov. 27, 1914 - Outbreak of World War I.

March 6 - 14, 1933 - Banking holiday.

September 11-14, 2001 - Terrorist Attacks.

I'm not saying that closing the exchange will work, as it may have the opposite effect, and many of these stocks trade off the exchange or overseas.

The full list of closings.

NYSE Circuit Breakers

I'm not sure what today will bring in the market; futures are up slightly as I am writing this, but here are the circuit breakers rules in force for the New York Stock Exchange for the third quarter of 2008. Good luck out there today.

In the event of a 1200 point decline in the DJIA (10 percent)

Before 2 p.m. a one hour trading halt.
From 2-2:30 p.m. a 30 minute trading halt.
After 2:30 p.m. - No trading halt.

In the event of a 2400 point decline in the DJIA (20 percent)

Before 1 p.m. a two hour trading halt.
From 1-2:00 p.m. a one hour trading halt.
After 2:00 p.m. - Market Closes.

In the event of a 3600 point decline in the DJIA (30 percent), regardless of the time, the NYSE closes trading for the day.

Circuit Breakers

I hope it doesn't come to this today, but here are the circuit breakers in place for the NYSE for the first quarter of 2008.

In the event of a 1350 point decline in the DJIA (10 percent):

If this occurs before 2 p.m. a one hour halt, from 2-2:30 p.m. a 30 minute halt, and after 2:30 p.m. then no halt.

In the event of a 2700 point decline in the DJIA (20 percent):

If this occurs before 1 p.m. a two hour halt, from 1-2 p.m. a one hour halt, and after 2 p.m. the market closes.

In the event of a 4000 point decline in the DJIA (30 percent), regardless of the time, the market closes for the day.

From the NYSE