As Chinese stocks took another sharp turn lower Wednesday, more listed companies rushed to halt trading in their shares, with more than 40% of the country’s stocks suspended by the time the session started, according to various media reports.

More than 1,200 listed Chinese companies had their stocks in trading halt by Wednesday, accounting for well above 40% of the entire pool of 2,808 issues, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported, citing data as of midnight Tuesday from cninfo.com, the market information site sanctioned by China’s securities regulator.

It marked the largest wave of trading halts in the history of China’s equity markets, the report said.

Many of the companies didn’t disclose the reasons behind their trading suspensions, though some cited the consideration of unspecified significant events, asset restructuring, or private share placements, according to various recent reports.