Bourse operator issues circuit breaker for KOSPI on sharp fall
By Yonhap
The dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul during morning trading hours, Wednesday. Yonhap
Korea's bourse operator on Wednesday activated a circuit breaker for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) on an extended sell-off in tech shares.
Trading of KOSPI-listed shares was halted for 20 minutes from 12:31 p.m. as the KOSPI plunged more than 8 percent from the previous session's close.
The benchmark index came under heavy selling pressure as investors sold off semiconductor shares on skepticism about tech giants' heavy spending on artificial intelligence (AI).
It marked the eighth time this year that the KRX has activated a circuit breaker.