American stock futures trading was halted on Friday morning following deep declines on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Standard & Poor's 500 indices as global stock markets plunged.

Futures contracts fell more than 6% triggering a "limit down" suspension of selling on either index, as S&P 500 futures sank to 855.20, according to Bloomberg News. Nasdaq futures were also halted.

All three contracts lost the maximum amount permissible before the start of futures trading in the United States.