(Bloomberg) — Turkish stocks extended their losses following Friday’s rout, prompting a fresh automatic trading halt after the slid to a record low.

After climbing up to 3.1% in the past, the Index fell 5%. Trading was set to restart at 4:23 p.m. Istanbul time, according to the bourse’s statement.

This is the second session in a row that Turkish equities’ trading is halted due to rapid losses. On Friday the benchmark fell as high as 9.1%, prompting automatic circuit breakers in the second-highest selling year. High levels of margin trading between local investors who borrowed funds in order to take part in the recent stock market rally exacerbated the situation. 

Calls on margins “led to snowballing losses” on Friday, turning a price correction into “panic selling,” said Tuna Cetinkaya, assistant general manager at the Info Yatirim brokerage. 

The lira’s 58% decline this year in the wake of 500 basis points of central bank rate cuts has sent local investors flocking to stocks to shield their savings, making Istanbul among the best-performing markets of 2021 in local currency terms, but the worst when measured in U.S. dollars. 

On Monday, the lira fell to a new record low after Turkish President Recep Tyyip Erdogan promised to keep cutting interest rates. He cited Islamic prohibitions against usury to support his pledge.

BIM Birlesik Magazalar AS, a discount grocer (IS:), underperformed while Turk Telekom (OTC) was one of the four stocks that performed well.