As the troubling coronavirus situation continues to get worse, temporary restrictions have been imposed on French and Italian stocks. These restrictions have been instilled by European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the European Union financial regulatory agency and European Supervisory Authority who oversee the workings of the European trading market. Specifically, the restrictions will focus on the prohibition of short selling on the stocks of French and Italian companies. [cta text='Visit Avatrade' href='/out/avatrade'] The emergency measures will be in place for up to 3 months as a direct precaution against the further selling off of these stocks during periods where much of the country are on lockdown as they continue to battle through the pandemic. The news of the restrictions was released by Avatrade in an email which detailed the intention behind the move. The post reads, “ESMA considers that the proposed measure is justified by the recent adverse events which represent a significant threat to market confidence and stability in Europe”. As we have reported, the market worldwide has crashed to lows not witnessed in decades with many fearing a recession on the way if the situation isn’t resolved soon. In fact, just over a week ago Avatrade has stated that a bear market is now upon us. As a result of these restrictions to the market, the hope is to curve the equity slump that the Coronavirus has caused. While Avatrade is the first to make their users aware of the restrictions, it will be the same across the market at all platforms where such stocks are available. As such, it is pertinent to pay attention to the details, whether you are a current user of Avatrade or not, as they will be in effect market-wide. From now on, traders will be unable to short sell French or Italian stocks until the end of the prohibition, although index products will remain unaffected. No traders will be able to even open sell (short) positions during this 3-month period either. uring the period, it will still be possible to open new long (buy) positions, however. As well as this, if you have any short positions already open then it will be possible to close these too. However, once completed, then you will not be able to do any more. Summing up the new measures, AvaTrade stated, "Most importantly, stay safe - together we will overcome the storm as we look to a brighter future together". Go to Avatrade now to finish up any short positions, buy stocks, or keep track of the market as the situation develops.