Seoul shares down 8% late Monday morning following trading suspension amid market slide
The screen displays the Korean won-U.S. dollar exchange rate and the KOSPI index at a dealing room at Hana Bank's headquarters in central Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
Korean stocks plummeted over 8 percent late Monday morning after the Korea Exchange (KRX) resumed transactions following a 20-minute trading suspension amid extreme volatility triggered by recent U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 450.57 points, or 8.07 percent, to 5,134.3 as of 11:02 a.m.
The KRX activated a circuit breaker at 10:31 a.m. after the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) crashed 452.8 points, or 8.11 percent, to 5,132.07, suspending trading for 20 minutes.
A circuit breaker is triggered when the index stays 8 percent below the previous session's level for one minute.
The KRX issued a circuit breaker Wednesday last week as well, when the main index crashed 12.06 percent, marking the steepest one-day decline since Sept. 12, 2001, in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
Earlier in the day, the main bourse operator activated a sell-side sidecar, suspending sales for five minutes, which is triggered when the KOSPI 200 Futures index moves 5 percent or more for at least one minute.
Investors kept watchful eyes on the global energy price volatility, with the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude surpassing $100 per barrel Sunday (U.S. time).
The market also reacted to weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data released last week, as nonfarm payrolls fell by 92,000 in February, missing market expectations for a gain of 59,000.
The Korean won was trading at 1,496.3 won against the U.S. dollar, down 19.9 won from the previous session.