Circuit limit
A daily price band beyond which a share can't trade, or a market-wide pause after a sharp fall or rise.
A circuit limit is a brake on wild price moves. Exchanges set a daily band on many shares, and a share can’t trade beyond it that day: hitting the top is an upper circuit, the bottom a lower circuit. For the whole market, SEBI’s circuit breakers pause trading when the Sensex or Nifty 50 moves 10%, 15% or 20% in a day.
Questions people ask
What is an upper circuit and a lower circuit?
They are the top and bottom of a share's daily price band, set by the exchange. A share at its upper circuit can't trade higher that day; at its lower circuit, it can't trade lower. Check the exchange site for any share's current band.
What is a market-wide circuit breaker?
It pauses trading across the whole market when the Sensex or Nifty 50 moves 10%, 15% or 20% in a day, under SEBI rules. At 20%, trading stops for the rest of the day. Halt timings have been revised over the years, so check current exchange rules.
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