History of Circuits in the Markets

The 30-share Sensex closed 2,110.79 points or 17.34% higher at 14,284.21 and the Nifty surged 651.50 points or 17.74%, to settle at 4,323.15. It hit all 3 circuit limits in today's trade. The trading on both the BSE and the NSE was halted today as markets hit a 20% upper circuit after re-opening in trade. At the beginning of today's trade, 9:55 am, the markets were locked at 15% upper circuit and exchanges halted the trade for two hours.
The Sensex has hit circuits on four occassions — including today — in the past five years. However, on all three instances Sensex was locked at 10% lower circuit.
Jan 22, 2008: This was the latest instance, when the market hit 10% lower circuit. The reason for the down circut was subprime loss & dismal global markets cues.
Oct 17, 2007: The BSE Sensex crashed by 1743 points on 17 October 2007. The crash was led due to concerns of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issuing new guideline for P-Notes
May 17, 2004: The markets crashed 5 years back when the then incumbent National Democratic Alliance (NDA) alliance lost power during the general elections in 2004.
The UPA's (United Progressive Alliance) clean sweep win has cheered the markets and helped the benchmark indices to hit 20% upper circuit today.
The Sensex saw the 14,000 mark and the Nifty surpassed the 4,300 level for the first time since September 22, 2008. The Nifty May futures ended with 46.85 points premium.