News halt (T1, T12 and other halt codes)
A news halt is a stop in trading called by a stock's listing exchange, usually so that material news can reach everyone at once. On Nasdaq it carries the code T1, news pending. Unlike a LULD pause it has no fixed length: the stock stays halted until the exchange sets a time to resume.
Why it matters to a small-cap momentum trader
A halt freezes your position. Nothing trades, your stop cannot fill, and the stock can reopen far from where it stopped, in either direction. Small caps are halted for news more often than large caps, sometimes in the middle of a run, and a T12, a request for more information, can last much longer than a T1. Knowing the codes tells you roughly what kind of wait you are in.
The halt codes a small-cap trader meets
| Code | What it means |
|---|---|
| T1 | Halt, news pending |
| T2 | Halt, news released: the news is going out |
| T3 | News and resumption times: the times quoting and trading resume |
| T12 | Halt, additional information requested by Nasdaq |
| H10 | SEC trading suspension |
| H4, H9 | Non-compliance with listing rules; not current in its filings |
| H11 | Regulatory concern |
| LUDP | Volatility trading pause, the LULD pause |
| M1 | Corporate action |
| MWC1, MWC2, MWC3 | Market-wide circuit breaker, levels 1 to 3 |
How it reopens. Nasdaq resumes a halted stock with a period in which only quotes are shown, then a reopening cross that sets the first price. Resting orders wait for it.
These are the codes on Nasdaq's public halt list. A news halt is called by the stock's own listing exchange, so a stock listed elsewhere is halted by that exchange, which may describe the reason in its own words. An SEC trading suspension, H10, can last up to ten trading days.
News halt vs LULD pause
A LULD pause is automatic: price reaches the edge of its band, stays there 15 seconds, and trading stops for five minutes. A news halt is a decision by the exchange, and its length depends on the news. A T1 can end within the hour once the release is out; a T12 or an H10 can run for days.
Halts in Hindsight Markets
The halts in a replay are the ones that really happened that day, from the exchanges' own halt messages. Market orders do not fill during a halt, and resting orders stay on the book until the stock reopens.
A worked example: a position through a T1
An illustration with made-up numbers, not a real stock or a real day.
The trade. You buy 1,000 shares at 3.20 with a stop at 3.00. You are risking 1,000 × 0.20 = 200 dollars.
The halt. At 3.35 the stock is halted, code T1. Your stop cannot fill while it is halted.
Reopen lower. The news disappoints and the stock reopens at 2.60. Your stop is now a market order below 3.00 and fills near 2.60: a loss of 1,000 × (3.20 − 2.60) = 600 dollars, three times what you planned.
Reopen higher. If it reopens at 4.10 instead, the open profit is 1,000 × (4.10 − 3.20) = 900 dollars. A halt widens both tails.
Common mistakes small-cap traders make with news halts
- Sizing as if the stop were guaranteed. A halt can jump past any stop. On a stock that is likely to halt, size for the gap, not only for the stop.
- Assuming T1 means good news. It means news is coming. The release can be a contract, a failed trial or an offering.
- Chasing the reopen. The first minutes after a halt are thin and fast, with wide spreads. Wait for the book to fill in.
- Confusing a halt with a pause. A five-minute LULD pause and an open-ended T12 call for very different plans.
Common questions
- What does a T1 halt mean?
- Nasdaq has halted the stock because material news is pending. The company is about to release information, and trading stops so everyone can read it before the stock trades again.
- How long does a T1 halt last?
- There is no fixed length. Many end within an hour of the news coming out, when Nasdaq posts a T3 with the times quoting and trading resume. Some run longer, or into the next day.
- Is a T1 halt good or bad?
- Neither by itself. It only says news is coming. The news decides the direction, and the reopen can be far from the last price either way.
- What is a T12 halt?
- A halt because Nasdaq has asked the company for more information. It can follow unusual trading or questions about a filing, and it often lasts longer than a T1, sometimes days.
- Can you sell a stock while it is halted?
- No trades happen during a halt. Many brokers let you place or cancel orders that wait for the reopening cross, which sets the first price after the halt.
How to practise it in Hindsight Markets
- Open a past trading day and run the Small Cap Low Float Top Gainers scan.
- Add the Minutes since news column to see which movers have fresh news.
- When a stock halts, the Level 2 header shows H, the chart shades the halt and the tape stops. A LULD pause shows P instead.
- Before it reopens, decide what you will do at a higher open and at a lower one.
- Open the trade in the journal and compare Most against you with the risk you planned.
Practice this on a real past day in Hindsight Markets
Replay a morning when a small cap was halted for news, watch the book freeze and the reopen, and decide what you would have done.