Iceland stock index plunges 76 pct as trade resumes

Source: guardian.co.uk


STOCKHOLM, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Trading on the Icelandic stock exchange resumed on Tuesday with the blue chip index plunging 76 percent.
Trading in six financial stocks -- Kaupthing, Landsbanki, Glitnir, Straumur-Burdaras, Reykjavik Savings Bank (SPRON) and Exista -- remained suspended.
Iceland last week took control of the operations of Kaupthing, Landsbanki and Glitnir.
The entire stock market had been suspended since Thursday.


Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/7867962

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I had to change from the original BBC link which failed.

In associated news from yesterday / updated today :

Iceland, with IMF deal in works, turns to Russia

REYKJAVIK, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Icelandic officials are in Moscow on Tuesday for talks on an emergency loan that could be worth billions of euros, the country's latest attempt to raise cash to help save its economy from collapse.
Iceland has tapped the International Monetary Fund for financing to help ease the crisis and some ministers have raised the possibility of membership of the European Union, long resisted by its fishing sector, to safeguard the economy.
An official from Iceland's central bank said a delegation from the bank and government left for Russia on Monday to begin talks on the emergency loan, a move that has raised questions about Russia's motives and what price Moscow might extract.
Iceland's once-flourishing economy has come close to collapse as the global financial crisis froze credit markets. Policy-makers are struggling to get the banking system functioning again.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/7864999

either it fell 76% based on what the values were last Thursday or it didn't. Seems an odd excuse but that may be why the BBC delayed listing the page I tried to use originally before switching to the Grauniad's one.

I think that following this debacle they're more likely now to join the EU.

if those share prices were listed as 'no price', a program may have taken that as 'price: 0', but still counted them as a stock in the total to be averaged - so they'd bring the quoted average down a lot.

Yes - its because of the absense of the banks which were 80% down before trading ceased last Thurday and its effectively a new index. At 2.40pm BST its actually down 5% on the new index.