The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) suffered its worst single-day percentage decline ever on Monday as fears that the recession is spreading on emerging markets sent markets into convulsions.

The 30-company composite index lost 12.3 percent to 1,713.83, its lowest finish since September 20, 2004 when it settled at 1,702.21. It shed 239.66 points, second-largest, one-day point loss since 1990.

The sharp decline forced the Philippine Stock Market to impose a 15-minute “circuit breaker” rule between 11:23AM and 11:38AM as the market saw shares falling by more than 10 percent.

The “circuit breaker” rule permitted the bourse to temporarily suspend trading if shares drop by at least ten percent from the previous day’s close.

The regulation intends to give more time to investors to “digest the impact of a sudden and unusual market drop and to help restore normalcy to the stock market.”