A circuit breaker was activated on the Kospi after the index fell more than 8 percent, halting all trading for 20 minutes. This marks the Kospi's eighth circuit breaker this year and 14th on record.
A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi at 6,212.26 points on July 28, down 543.49 points, or 8.04 percent, from the previous trading session.NEWS1
The Kospi plunged 8 percent during intraday trading on Tuesday, falling below the 6,300 level for the first time in more than three months and triggering a circuit breaker following a semiconductor sell-off.
The Kospi opened at 6,400.27, down 355.48 points, or 5.26 percent, from the previous session, and extended its losses throughout the morning. As of 10:10 a.m., the index had fallen 8 percent to 6,215.19.
The sharp decline triggered a series of trading curbs — including a circuit breaker at 10:13 a.m. that halted all trading for 20 minutes. This marks the index’s eighth circuit breaker this year and 14th on record.
A circuit breaker for the Kospi halts trading in all listed stocks for 20 minutes when the index falls at least 8 percent from the previous trading day’s close for one minute or longer.
At the time of the circuit breaker, the Kospi stood at 6,213.51, down 542.24 points, or 8.02 percent, from the previous close.
A sell-side curb, known locally as a sidecar, had been activated earlier on the Kospi at 9:06 a.m. after the index fell at the opening bell.
A sell-side sidecar is triggered for the index when the Kospi 200 futures price falls by 5 percent or more from the reference price and remains at that level for at least one minute. The curb suspends trading of program sell orders for five minutes.
A sell-side sidecar was then activated on the Kosdaq at 9:14 a.m. The curb is activated for the index when two conditions are sustained for at least one minute: The Kosdaq 150 futures price falls by 6 percent or more from the previous trading day’s close, and the Kosdaq 150 Index falls at least 3 percent.
As of 10:10 a.m., the Kosdaq had fallen 6.34 percent from the previous session to 716.36. At the same time, Samsung Electronics was trading at 230,000 won ($156), and SK hynix at 1.6145 million won, down 9.45 percent and 11.1 percent, respectively.
A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kosdaq at 718.93 points on July 28, down 45.93 points, or 6.01 percent, from the previous trading session.NEWS1
The market rout was widely attributed to the listing of CXMT, China’s largest semiconductor company.
According to analysts, concerns have grown that the funds raised through the initial public offering (IPO) would enable CXMT to accelerate its efforts to catch up with global memory chipmakers, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, weighing on investor sentiment.
“The successful IPO of China’s CXMT and reports that China has developed its own deep ultraviolet lithography equipment have heightened concerns over intensifying competition and oversupply in the global memory market, sending semiconductor shares broadly lower,” said Seo Sang-young, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities.
Some analysts, however, said that the market’s losses appeared excessive.
“A meaningful slowdown in corporate earnings has not yet happened,” said Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities. “As shares fall sharply, the market also tends to lower its earnings expectations. Earnings announcements from leading companies scheduled to begin tomorrow could help reverse market sentiment.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
