On the 4th, the KOSPI plunged more than 12% intraday, marking a record drop. Geopolitical risk stemming from the U.S. strike on Iran spread across the market, sharply denting investor sentiment.
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX), as of 12:44 p.m., the KOSPI was trading at 5,203.03, down 588.88 points (10.17%) from the previous session.
At one point, it tumbled 732.46 points (12.65%) to as low as 5,059.45. This is the largest drop on record in both points and percentage terms since the Korea Exchange (KRX) began compiling data in 1998.
After setting a record for the largest decline on a closing basis the previous day with a drop of 452.22 points (7.24%), it broke the record again in just one day.
The decline surpasses the figures from Sept. 12, 2001 (12.02%), when stocks plunged after the 9/11 attacks; Oct. 24, 2008 (10.57%) during the financial crisis; March 19, 2020 (8.39%) at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic; and Aug. 5, 2024 (8.77%) during Black Monday triggered by U.S.-led recession fears.
In the main board on the day, shares of 905 out of 924 traded stocks fell, while only 19 rose. More than 97% of all listed stocks declined.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ was trading at 1,006.08, down 131.62 points (11.57%) from the previous session. The KOSDAQ also plunged more than 14% intraday. Among 1,819 KOSDAQ-listed stocks, 1,707 were down.
Meanwhile, as the KOSPI and KOSDAQ slumped together in the morning, the Korea Exchange (KRX) triggered a sidecar (temporary suspension of program sell quotes) and then a circuit breaker on both markets in succession.