Chinese stock markets tumbled by more than seven percent, forcing exchanges to suspend trading for the second time in a week.
The official Xinhua news agency said on Thursday that trading on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges was frozen for the day.
The drop is being linked to poor economic figures, tensions after North Korea's nuclear test and the spat between the Arab world and Iran.
Reporting from Beijing, Al Jazeera's Adrian Brown, said that just 15 minutes of trading were possible on Thursday.
"There is evidence to show that China's currency, the yuan, is continuing to weaken which provides further confirmation that,the world's second largest economy is continuing to slow even more," Brown said.
"Also, there were reports on Thursday that the head of one of the country's big security exchanges was under investigation for corruption and insider trading," he added.
"And then, of course, on Wednesday North Korea claimed that it had successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb and that didn't exactly improve market sentiment".
The so-called "circuit breakers", which took effect on January 1 intended to curb volatility, also kicked in on Monday to halt stock trading.
Regulators announced in December that they would introduce the emergency measures, which are aimed at preventing huge price swings.
Beijing has been trying to restore investor confidence after markets plunged in June following huge gains in the preceding year. The market meltdown has prompted a panicked, multibillion-dollar government intervention.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 7.3 percent to 3,115.89 before trading was halted.
The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index slumped 8.3 percent to 1,955.88.
The official Xinhua news agency said on Thursday that trading on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges was frozen for the day.
The drop is being linked to poor economic figures, tensions after North Korea's nuclear test and the spat between the Arab world and Iran.
Reporting from Beijing, Al Jazeera's Adrian Brown, said that just 15 minutes of trading were possible on Thursday.
"There is evidence to show that China's currency, the yuan, is continuing to weaken which provides further confirmation that,the world's second largest economy is continuing to slow even more," Brown said.
"Also, there were reports on Thursday that the head of one of the country's big security exchanges was under investigation for corruption and insider trading," he added.
"And then, of course, on Wednesday North Korea claimed that it had successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb and that didn't exactly improve market sentiment".
The so-called "circuit breakers", which took effect on January 1 intended to curb volatility, also kicked in on Monday to halt stock trading.
Regulators announced in December that they would introduce the emergency measures, which are aimed at preventing huge price swings.
Beijing has been trying to restore investor confidence after markets plunged in June following huge gains in the preceding year. The market meltdown has prompted a panicked, multibillion-dollar government intervention.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 7.3 percent to 3,115.89 before trading was halted.
The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index slumped 8.3 percent to 1,955.88.
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