The circuit breaker was activated in the Brazilian stock exchange B3 on Wednesday, after benchmark index Ibovespa fell 10 percent in a single session.

It was the second circuit breaker activation this week, after the first one occurred on Monday morning.

After operations were reestablished Wednesday, the Ibovespa continued the downward trend, closing with a fall of 7.64 percent. The Brazilian real also had a negative result, as the exchange rate closed at 4.72 reals per U.S. dollar, with a 1.61-percent devaluation from Tuesday.

The second circuit breaker of the week was triggered after the World Heath Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.

The dropping oil prices have also directly affected Brazil's economy, since the country is a major oil producer, and its state-controlled oil and gas giant Petrobras is one of the main companies at the B3 exchange.

Anytime the Ibovespa has a 10-percent fall in a single day, the circuit breaker can be automatically activated, with all operations suspended for 30 minutes. The mechanism aims to prevent crashes and give investors time to reconsider panic sells.