After Record Sell-Offs, Italy and Spain Ban Short Selling By Bloomberg


(Bloomberg) — After a brutal trading session on Thursday, Italian and Spanish securities regulators have banned short sales during Friday on some stocks.

The Spanish ban will affect 69 stocks, including all liquid stocks that fell more than 10% Thursday and all illiquid stocks that fell more than 20%, while in Italy 85 stocks will be affected by the ban.

Short selling in some Italian and Spanish securities will also be banned in all U.K. trading venues for the day, the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority said in a statement. A spokesman for the FCA declined to comment on whether the regulator would consider a ban on short sales of U.K. stocks.

Italy’s plunged 17% on Thursday, while Spain’s slumped 14%, both record losses, amid a global sell-off as measures announced by the European Central Bank and the U.S. to combat the economic effects of the coronavirus disappointed. Both benchmarks rose at least 3.3% as of 9:33 a.m. in Milan on Friday.

UniCredit SpA (MI:), Telecom Italia SPA (NYSE:), Banco Santander (MC:) and Telefonica (MC:) are among the companies that will be protected by the short-selling ban.

In Germany, short selling of stocks will not be banned for now, a spokesman for the Deutsche Boerse (DE:) said. The country’s benchmark index plunged 12% on Thursday. Switzerland’s SIX Exchange isn’t planning a ban as its market is functioning while Dutch market regulator AFM said it is monitoring the situation.

Short-selling restrictions were also put in place for some Asian markets, with South Korea’s Financial Services Commission going the furthest by banning short-selling of shares listed on Kospi, Kosdaq and Konex for six months. In Thailand, short sales were not banned, but rules are being adjusted for current market conditions, according to the President of the country’s stock exchange.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*