Buy-side sidecar triggered after Kospi jumps 6.5% at open

A buy-side trading curb, known locally as a sidecar, was activated as the market opened, with the Kospi crossing the 7,000-point threshold on Wednesday. 

The five-minute trading curb was imposed from 9:06 a.m., when Kospi 200 Futures index rose 71.50 points, or jumped 6.50 percent, from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange. 

A sidecar can be activated when the Kospi 200 Futures index rises more than five percent over the threshold and lasts for one minute. 

Stocks opened higher, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, though continued uncertainty arising from the Iran war remains a concern for investors.

The Kospi rose 226.08 points, or 3.3 percent, to 7,082.91 at the opening bell. The index closed 0.73 percent higher Tuesday after rebounding from an 8.95 percent plunge a session earlier due to a massive sell-off of technology stocks.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.02 percent to 52,508.27, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.9 percent to 26,107.01.

Renewed tensions between the United States and Iran in the Middle East are expected to continue to weigh on investor sentiment.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday dropped his proposal to impose a 20 percent "reimbursement" fee on cargo shipped through the crucial Strait of Hormuz, saying that he will replace it with trade and investment deals with Middle Eastern countries.

Just a day earlier, he said the United States would serve as the "guardian" of the strait and be reimbursed at a 20 percent rate on all cargo shipped through the waterway.

BY YONHAP AND KIM EUN-BIN [[email protected]]