Stock trading halts today
// luld_circuit_breakers · t1_news_pending · t5_volatility · regulatory · mwc · real-time · free
Trading halts temporarily suspend buying and selling in a stock or across the broad market. The most common source today is the LULD (Limit Up-Limit Down) circuit breaker, which automatically pauses trading for five minutes when a stock's price moves outside its allowed band. Other common halt types include T1 (news pending), T5 (single-stock volatility), H (regulatory), and the rare MWC (market-wide circuit breaker) that halts the entire US market.
The halt table above is populated in real time by Tapeboard after the page loads — no signup required. The table refreshes every 15 seconds during market hours. Data is sourced from the consolidated exchange halt tape.
Halt reason codes explained
The exchanges report a reason code with every halt. Here are the most common codes and what they mean:
| CODE | NAME | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| T1 | News pending | Exchange requests a halt while the company prepares a material news release. Resumes once the exchange confirms the news is disseminated. |
| T5 | Single stock volatility | Regulatory halt triggered when a stock moves more than 30% in five minutes. Similar to LULD but imposed directly rather than auto-triggered. |
| LUDP | LULD pause | Limit Up-Limit Down circuit breaker. Automatically pauses trading for 5 minutes when price moves outside the LULD price band. The most common halt type. |
| LUDS | LULD straddle | LULD straddle state — the national best bid is above the upper price band or the national best offer is below the lower band. Triggers a trading pause. |
| M | Market-wide circuit breaker | Level 1/2/3 market-wide halt: triggered at 7%, 13%, and 20% S&P 500 declines from prior close. Level 3 halts trading for the rest of the session. |
| MWC1 | MWC Level 1 | Market-wide circuit breaker Level 1 — S&P 500 down 7% from prior close. 15-minute halt after 9:30 AM ET; not triggered after 3:25 PM ET. |
| MWC2 | MWC Level 2 | Market-wide circuit breaker Level 2 — S&P 500 down 13% from prior close. 15-minute halt; not triggered after 3:25 PM ET. |
| MWC3 | MWC Level 3 | Market-wide circuit breaker Level 3 — S&P 500 down 20%. Trading halted for the remainder of the day. |
| H10 | SEC trading suspension | SEC issues a 10-day suspension of trading in a security under Section 12(k) of the Securities Exchange Act, typically for fraud or market manipulation concerns. |
| H11 | Regulatory concern | Exchange-initiated halt for regulatory concern, pending clearance from the relevant regulator. |
How trading halts work
When a halt is triggered, the exchange broadcasts a halt notification to all market participants via the Securities Information Processor (SIP). All lit exchanges and most dark pools immediately suspend trading in the affected security until the resume notification arrives.
Limit Up-Limit Down halts are automatic. The LULD price bands are calculated every 30 seconds based on a rolling reference price. If the best offer touches the upper band or the best bid touches the lower band for more than 15 seconds, the SIP enters a "limit state." If the limit state persists another 15 seconds without trading resuming inside the band, a five-minute trading pause fires.
News-pending halts (T1) are requested by the company's listing exchange and are not automatic. A halt officer at the exchange contacts the company, confirms a material announcement is forthcoming, and then issues the halt to give the company time to disseminate the news via a wire service or 8-K filing before trading resumes.
Market-wide circuit breakers (MWC) are measured against the prior-day close of the S&P 500. Level 1 at minus 7% and Level 2 at minus 13% each trigger 15-minute pauses; Level 3 at minus 20% ends trading for the rest of the session. These have been triggered only a handful of times in market history, most recently in March 2020.
Trading around halts
Halts create asymmetric information risk. During a T1 news-pending halt, the company knows what the news is and traders do not. Entering a position immediately after a halt resumes — before the full news text has been read — is one of the fastest ways to take a loss.
LULD pauses are often followed by a violent continuation of the prior move once the band is reset and trading resumes. The five-minute pause re-sorts order books and often results in a sharp directional gap at resume that punishes stale resting orders.
Market-wide circuit breakers give institutional desks time to assess conditions and reposition. Retail traders in margin accounts with intraday losses can be subject to forced liquidation when trading resumes if their broker issues a margin call during the halt.
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