The Big Board implemented the automatic halts after the stock market crashed in the late 1980s to force traders to take a break from frenzied selling.

The Dow Jones industrial average would have to fall 1,100 points in a day to trigger the first halt. If that point is reached before 2:00 p.m., the market would shut down for an hour. If the threshold is breached between 2:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., the halt will last 30 minutes. No trading stops will take place if the plunge occurs after 2:30 p.m.

Based on Thursday’s Dow close of 8,579, the threshhold number to cause the market stop in one day would be 7,479.

If the index were to fall 2,200 points before 1:00 p.m., the market would close for two hours. If such a decline took place between 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m., there would be a one-hour pause. The market would close for the day if stocks sank to that level after 2:00 p.m.

In the event of a 3,350-point decline, the market would close for the day, regardless of the time.

The thresholds are computed at the beginning of each quarter to establish a specific point value for the quarter.

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