Four EU countries ban short stock sales

Eurozone leaders to meet about regional troubles

PARIS - France, Italy, Spain, and Belgium are banning short-selling on select stocks amid efforts to calm market turmoil that has sent bank shares gyrating wildly and aggravated worries about Europe’s huge debts.

The European Union’s markets supervisor, the ESMA, announced the move late yesterday after boosting surveillance of stormy markets earlier in the day. The move capped two days of whipsaw trading that saw French banks’ market value fall and rise by billions of euros.

In a short sale, a trader hopes to make a profit by betting on the decline in the price of a share. The practice has been blamed for contributing to market volatility.

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