KOSPI Plummets Over 8%, Trading Halted by Circuit Breaker Following Sidecar

The KOSPI plunged by more than 8% during trading today (July 7), triggering a circuit breaker that temporarily halted all stock trading.

The Korea Exchange announced that it suspended trading on the KOSPI market for 20 minutes starting at 1:51:34 p.m. today.

This measure was taken after the circuit breaker was triggered, as the KOSPI index remained down by more than 8% from the previous day's closing price for one minute.

As a result, trading for all stocks listed on the KOSPI market was suspended for 20 minutes, and trading in stock-related futures and options markets was also halted.

This marks the 6th time a circuit breaker has been triggered in the KOSPI market this year, and the 11th time in history.

At the time the circuit breaker was triggered, the KOSPI was at 7,404.48, down 646.85 points or 8.03% from the previous session.

The index opened at 7,919.20, down 132.13 points or 1.64% from the previous day, and continued its downward trend before the decline accelerated in the afternoon.

At one point during the session, the index plummeted as much as 8.19% to 7,392.04.

The Korea Exchange lifted the circuit breaker and resumed trading 20 minutes later at 2:11:33 p.m.

In the KOSPI market, foreign investors are leading the decline, net selling 3.3601 trillion won worth of stocks.

Institutions are also net selling 220.3 billion won, while individual investors are net buying 3.5053 trillion won, appearing to support the index.

Major stocks are showing significant declines, with Samsung Electronics down 9.75% and SK Hynix down 10.58%.

Earlier, at 10:23:41 a.m., a sidecar—a temporary suspension of program sell orders—was also triggered.

At that time, the KOSPI 200 futures index was at 1,227.32, down 66.26 points or 5.12% from the previous day's closing.

A sell-side sidecar in the KOSPI market is triggered when the KOSPI 200 futures index falls by 5% or more and remains at that level for one minute.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.