China suspends stock market 'circuit breaker'

China announced Thursday night that it will from Friday suspend the stock market circuit breaker mechanism that has been implemented since the beginning of this year.

"Currently, negative effects of the mechanism are larger than positive effects. Thus, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) decides to suspend the circuit breaker mechanism to maintain market stability," CSRC spokesman Deng Ke said in a statement.

Under the mechanism that became effective on Jan. 1, trading on China's stock market will be halted for 15 minutes if the Hushen 300 Index, which reflects the performance of bluechips listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen, moves up or down by 5 percent before 2:45 p.m. If the movement reaches 7 percent when trading is resumed, the market closes for the day.