On the 7th afternoon, the KOSPI index plunged more than 8%, triggering a circuit breaker on the Korea Exchange's main board. It was the first circuit breaker in seven trading days since on the 26th.
Korea Exchange (KRX) said it triggered a circuit breaker at 1:51 p.m. after a drop of at least 8% in the KOSPI index lasted for more than one minute. It was the sixth this year and the 12th on record.
At the time of activation, the KOSPI index was at 7,401.56 points, down 8.07% (649.77 points) from the previous day's close of 8,051.33 points. With the circuit breaker triggered, transaction in all KOSPI stocks was halted for 20 minutes.
A circuit breaker is a system that halts all stock trading for 20 minutes if the KOSPI falls at least 8% from the previous day's close for more than one minute. Before trading resumes, orders are collected for 10 minutes and trades are executed in a single-price auction.
The exchange analyzed that the circuit breaker was triggered because profit-taking sell orders emerged in semiconductor-related stocks.
Meanwhile, earlier at 10:23 a.m., a sell sidecar was triggered on the main board. At the time the sidecar was activated, the KOSPI 200 futures index was at 1,227.32 points, down 5.12% from the previous trading day.