SET halts trading

At 449.91, it was the lowest since June 2003.

After the 30-minute halt, the SET Index recovered slightly, losing 9.25 per cent to stay at 453.73 points at 3.15pm.

 This was the second time that the exchange opened the "circuit breaker" since the SET was established more than 30 years ago. The first circuit breaker was on in December 2006 when Thailand's central bank implemented the 30-per-cent capital reserve requirement.

The second level of the circuit breaker is to suspend the market for one hour once the index plunges by more than 20 per cent in a day. 

European stocks also plunged Friday, with London and Frankfurt each losing

more than 10 per cent and Paris more than nine per cent as the global financial crisis

deepened further.

London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares nosedived 10.20 per cent to as low as 3,873.99 points - the first time below 4,000 points since July 3, 2002 -- before pulling back slightly.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 also shed more than 10.0 per cent before paring losses and in Paris the CAC 40 dived 9.68 per cent.

Japan stocks plunged, capping the Nikkei 225 Average's biggest weekly decline in its more than 50- year history, as the deepening credit crisis stoked concern that company failures will increase. 

Indonesia also suspended trading on the local stock exchange for a third day running Friday on fears of following Asian markets on their nightmare downward slide.