Kuwait City - ­ Kuwait halted trading in its stock exchange on Thursday after traders demanded action to stop major losses, the country's trade minister and its state news agency said.

The halt in trading came after a court order on Thursday.

Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmad Baqer told Al-Arabiya TV that trading could resume on Sunday.

The station showed footage of traders protesting at the stock exchange.

The exchange's director, Saleh al-Falah, was informed of a court decision to stop trading early on Thursday and said the suspension would continue until November 17, state news agency KUNA reported.

The court decision came to prevent further losses among traders, after the KSE price index fell to 8,691 points on Thursday, a drop of 160.1 points.

The KSE closed 45 minutes after it opened this morning. Since the beginning of this year the KSE index has dropped more than 30 per cent.

Some Kuwaiti lawmakers opposed the measure.

Lawmakers said stopping trade would indicate that the government doesn't trust the market and could cause it to fall even further when it reopens.

Kuwaiti Finance Minister Mustafa al-Shimali, said that stopping trading was "dangerous." The minister, speaking in front of a National Assembly session, said that he supported the view of some law makers over the court decision, KUNA reported.

"The consequences of this court order will be grave," he said.

The Kuwait Stock Exchange is among the first and largest stock exchanges in the Gulf region. (dpa)