Austria's Financial Market Authority on March 18 banned the short-selling of shares on the Vienna Stock Exchange for a month to maintain the stability of the financial markets and investor confidence amid the volatility caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

The watchdog said in the March 18 statement that it would have preferred the European Securities and Markets Authority had enacted a pan-EU ban but such an agreement could not be reached as the virus has impacted member states to varying degrees. It added that regulators in Italy, France, Belgium and Spain had implemented similar measures at a national level.

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Meanwhile, Markus Ferber, a German senior member of the European Parliament, called on ESMA to assess the implications of recent heavy sell-off in shares on financial stability and determine whether a blocwide ban on short-selling is necessary.

He wrote in a letter to the regulator that if such a measure is needed, it should be introduced in a concerted manner on a European level to "avoid market fragmentation and regulatory arbitrage," Reuters reported the same day.