Glossary · Defined term
Trading halt
A trading halt is a temporary pause in a single stock's trading, usually pending major news or extreme volatility.
Last updated Oct 2, 2026
What it means
A trading halt is a temporary pause in trading for a single stock, as opposed to a market-wide circuit breaker. Halts are called for several reasons: a company is about to release material news, the stock is moving so violently that it trips volatility bands, or regulators have questions about the company's disclosures. During a halt, no trades execute and pending orders wait.
The most common trigger is pending news. Exchanges halt the stock before a major announcement, such as merger news or clinical trial results, so the information reaches everyone at once instead of leaking to a few fast traders. Volatility halts work differently: if a stock moves too far too fast, a brief pause lets the order book refill and prevents disorderly cascades.
Trading resumes once the exchange is satisfied that conditions are orderly, often with an auction to set a fair reopening price. Stocks frequently gap sharply on the reopen as the market digests whatever caused the halt, which is why halts are closely watched events rather than mere pauses.
An example
For illustration, a biotech stock is halted at 9:45 a.m. pending trial results. At 10:15 the results are published, trading reopens through an auction, and the stock immediately jumps 40% as buyers rush in.