BEI temporarily halts trading; what is a trading halt?

JAKARTA – On Tuesday, March 18 2025, PT Bursa Efek Indonesia (BEI) enforced a temporary trading halt in the stock market, effective from 11:19 Jakarta Automated Trading System (JATS) time, after the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) plummeted by 5.02%.
A trading halt is a policy implemented due to a significant drop in JCI beyond a certain threshold, regulated under OJK's Head of Capital Market Supervision Department 2A Instruction Letter No. S-274/PM.21/2020, dated 10 March 2020.
There are three stages of a trading halt:
- 30-Minute Trading Halt: If the IHSG drops by more than 5% in a single day, trading will be halted for 30 minutes.
- 30-Minute Trading Halt (Advanced): If the IHSG continues to fall by more than 10%, trading will be halted again for 30 minutes.
- Trading Suspension: If the IHSG plunges by more than 15% in a single day, trading will be suspended, which may last for the entire day or until the end of the session, subject to OJK approval.
According to IDXChannel, during a trading halt, unrealised orders (open orders) remain in the system, and exchange members can still withdraw or modify these orders.
However, once the stage of Trading Suspension is reached, all unrealised orders will be automatically cancelled.
The purpose of a trading halt is to protect investors and prevent further potential losses or to provide clarity to the public.
According to BEI’s official site, today’s trading halt will last for 30 minutes, with trading expected to resume at 11:49 JATS. (ZH)