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U.S. regulators and exchanges are considering new measures to limit volatility in low-priced or thinly traded shares, according to people involved in the discussions.

Circuit breakers have already been introduced to restrict sharp movements in major stocks and exchange-traded funds in the wake of the May 6 flash crash, and are expected to be extended to more company shares.

A consensus is emerging that the current triggers for halting trade in a stock--a 10% move within five minutes--may not make sense for all securities.

"I don't think there's any way that you can continue to apply the same criteria to all stocks," said a person close to the matter.

The five-minute halt agreed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. stock market operators gives traders time to take a breath and reevaluate any sudden price swing in a particular share.

"Expanding it to all stocks at 10% would cause a lot of stocks to be triggering the circuit breaker, and that's not what the rule was designed for," said the person.

Circuit breakers initially were applied to S&P 500 components and then in late June to stocks in the Russell 1000 index and some exchange-traded funds.

Lifting the threshold to 20% for securities outside the Russell 1000 is one option under discussion, though talks are at an early stage.

"In the next phase of circuit breakers, I think you'll see this notion of tiering take hold, based on the price and volume of the security in question," said one person briefed on the matter.

Three stocks have so far activated their circuit-breakers, all following erroneous orders that triggered trades far beyond the 10% threshold.

Keeping this limit for lower-value and thinly traded shares could see a sharp rise in the number of trading halts.

For example, a stock such as Sirius XM Radio Inc. (SIRI) that hovers around $1 could more easily move beyond the 10% threshold because it doesn't have as far to go as a stock carrying a $50 price tag.

Thinly traded shares also could cross the 10% boundary more often, because any transactions in such names carry a greater potential impact on pricing.

Leveraged exchange-traded funds, used by investors to magnify a view on stock-index values, would also be more likely to hit circuit-breakers because they are designed to rise or fall more quickly than the underlying index.

-By Jacob Bunge, Dow Jones Newswires; (312) 750 4117; jacob.bunge@dowjones.com

(Fawn Johnson and Ian Salisbury contributed to this article.)

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