KRX issues circuit breaker for KOSPI on sharp fall

A board shows KOSPI index at a dealing room at Hana Bank in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

Korea's bourse operator on Monday activated a circuit breaker for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) as the index nosedived by more than 8 percent due to a slump in tech heavyweights.

Trading of KOSPI-listed stocks was being halted for 20 minutes.

The Korea Exchange issued the measure shortly after the stock market opening, after the KOSPI crashed more than 8 percent.

The KOSPI fell sharply as the index tracked Wall Street's sharp losses last week, fueled by semiconductor shares' biggest daily percentage drop since March 2020 and the hotter-than-expected U.S. jobs report for May, which fueled fears of a hawkish policy pivot by the U.S. Federal Reserve.