The stock exchange has temporarily suspended trading on the floor of the stock exchange after the S&P SL20 index fell more than 5 points below its previous close.
The market was halted for 30 minutes, the CSE said.
The S&P SL20 index fell 240.45 points, or 5.3%, to 4,292.90, while the All Share Price Index (ASPI) fell 4.16%, or 639.01 points, to 14,734.34 in early trade, the CSE said.
The circuit breaker imposed by the Securities and Exchange Board of Sri Lanka (SEC) is in effect. If the distribution of shares falls more than 5 points below the previous close, trading on the CSE will be suspended.
Earlier, U.S. markets fell, as global stocks lost steam over U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei fell more than 8% shortly after opening.
The country’s 225-share average, which tracks the country’s most valuable companies, fell below 33,000 for the first time since August 2024, according to Reuters.
The broader Topix index was last trading more than 7.5% lower, recovering from its steepest losses.
The secondary markets are coming off their worst two days for Wall Street stocks in five years. U.S. stock futures fell on Sunday evening after two sessions saw more than $5.4 trillion in market value disappear.
Global investors have rejected President Trump’s massive tariff regime, some of which took effect on Saturday and even bigger ones are set to be launched on Wednesday. China retaliated strongly on Friday, imposing a 34% tariff on all U.S. goods, raising fears of an escalating and damaging trade war.
