On March 10, 2023, volatility resulting from concerns regarding runs on certain banks triggered trading halts in those banks’ stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq. March 13, 2023, saw additional trading halts on bank stocks. This post provides a brief explanation of the Limit Up Limit Down (LULD) rules that

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the financial markets have experienced significant volatility. During the course of this volatility, exchanges have halted trading multiple times after declines in trading trigged circuit breakers. In addition, trading floors are transitioning to electronic trading in efforts to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 on physical trading floors. With the recent turmoil, this post provides a high-level summary of the various types of circuit breakers and what can be expected.

On two separate days last week and again this morning, markets hit critical circuit breaker levels triggering U.S. exchanges to halt trading. Such large market declines remind us of the prospect of an early close if the S&P 500 falls more than 20% from the previous day’s close. If such an event occurs, open-end investment companies (“mutual funds”) will need to either (1) calculate their net asset values (“NAVs”) at the time of the early close or (2) find alternative pricing sources for calculating their NAVs as of 4:00 pm (ET). The options available will depend in part on the mutual fund’s prospectus disclosure.