Nexus ScreenerTrading Halts Explained: LULD Pauses, News Halts and Resumptions
A trading halt stops all trading in a stock for a while. For fast-moving small caps they're common, especially volatility pauses.
Volatility pauses (LULD)
The Limit Up-Limit Down (LULD) rules set price bands around a stock's recent average price. The bands are typically 5%, 10% or 20% wide depending on the stock and its price, and wider near the open and close. If the price can't trade back inside the band within 15 seconds, trading pauses for about 5 minutes. A stock can be paused many times in one day.
News and regulatory halts
- News pending (T1): the exchange halts trading so important news can be released. Trading usually resumes after the news is out.
- Requests for information (T12): the exchange asks the company for more information.
- Regulatory halts: for example, an SEC trading suspension can last up to 10 trading days.
Market-wide circuit breakers
If the S&P 500 falls 7% or 13% from the previous close, trading in all stocks halts for 15 minutes (before 3:25 PM ET). A 20% fall halts trading for the rest of the day.
When trading resumes
Trading restarts with a short auction. The first price after a halt can be far from the last price before it, in either direction, and you can't exit a position while a stock is halted.
How Nexus Screener shows it
- A Halted tag while a stock is halted, with the reason and expected resumption time, and a Resumed tag afterwards.
- With Nexus Pro, push alerts when a stock on your watchlist, one matching your scans, or a Supernova stock is halted and when it resumes.