China have suspended the circuit-breaker rule that saw trading on the Chinese stock markets halt after just 30 minutes this morning.

The rule – in which trading is automatically suspended if the markets drop by 7 percent or over – was brought in in order to curb volatility on the markets and increase investor sentiment. However, the ‘circuit-breaker’ has already come into play twice this week, cutting short two days worth of trading – leading to the announcement this afternoon that the rule would be suspended.

European markets have also been down today, with the Dax falling over 3 percent and £47 billion wiped off the FTSE.

07/01/2016