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Tuesday, November 24, 2009

This Day in Wall Street History 1997: NYSE pulls plug on trading

In response to a 554.26-point freefall, New York Stock Exchange officials invoked the "circuit breaker" rule and put a halt to trading.

The move, which marked the first time that the Exchange had used the circuit-breaker system, raised the ire of some traders, who grumbled that the rule was used rashly and unnecessarily.

So, on Nov. 24, 1997, The Wall Street Journal reported that the New York Stock Exchange had implemented changes to the "circuit breaker" rules, ensuring that trading halts only be implemented when the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by at least 10% or 20%.

Source: History.com

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