Sao Paulo - Trading was suspended Friday on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange, after the leading index Bovespa plunged more than 10 per cent about an hour after opening.
The 10.1 per cent drop in share prices recorded at 10:35 am (1335 GMT) activated an automatic circuit breaker, triggered when stocks drop below a certain level and automatically suspending trading for half an hour.
On Friday morning, the Bovespa index - which had neared 74,000 in May - was on 33,308.08.