Kospi nosedives over 8% within minutes of opening, circuit breaker triggered

The Korean bourse Kospi nosedived over 8 percent within minutes of opening Monday morning, following the crash in U.S. semiconductor stocks over the weekend.

The Kospi opened at 8,048.09 on Monday morning, down 1.38 percent from the previous session. Then it plunged below the 8,000 mark to stand at 7,551.89 as of 9:03 a.m. — 8.68 percent lower than the previous trading session.

The Korea Exchange issued a circuit breaker — a 20-minute break on trading —  shortly after stocks fell.

The crash mirrored a major fall in the New York stock market, where large tech stocks took a downward turn amid the semiconductor shock and rate hike fears.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.35 percent lower on Friday, while the S&P 500 lost 2.64 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite shed 4.18 percent.