Tunis bourse halts trading after the Tunindex falls more than 3 percent
On 28 July the Bourse de Tunis triggered the circuit breaker set out in article 3.7 of its trading rules, suspending quotation for an hour after the Tunindex dropped more than 3 percent; a second threshold at minus 5 percent would close the session outright. The exchange's communiqué gave no cause, but the fall came days after the decree obliging banks to devote 8 percent of profits to interest-free loans, and it hit the very bank stocks that had carried the index to a record 21,552.73 points on 17 July. Economist Ridha Chkoundali warned that squeezed bank profitability matters well beyond the market: banks are the main buyers of the Treasury bills that finance the state budget. Other readings differ: Challenges TN treats the drop as a technical consolidation after a rally of roughly 60 percent since January, with listed companies' fundamentals intact.