Stocks in São Paulo plunged by more than 15 per cent on Monday morning, triggering circuit breakers twice during the session.

Trading was suspended for half an hour in mid-morning but stocks continued falling when it resumed. The Bovespa’s main index fell below 38,000 points by late morning – losing almost half its value from its peak of more than 73,000 points in May – while the currency slumped to R$2.16 against the US dollar from R$2.04 at Friday’s close, a fall of 5.6 per cent.