KOSPI Falls to 1600 Level... KOSDAQ Triggers 'Circuit Breaker and Sidecar'

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global stock markets plummeted, causing the KOSPI index to start the day with a sharp decline of over 8% on the 13th, breaking below the 1690 level during trading. On this day, dealers are busy working in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Euljiro, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Boryeong] On the 13th, the KOSPI index plunged, breaking below the 1700 mark during the session, causing trading to be temporarily halted.

At 10:10 a.m. that day, the KOSPI stood at 1713.11, down 121.22 points (6.61%) from the previous close.

The KOSPI opened at 1722.68, down 111.65 points (6.09%) from the previous trading day, and during the session, the decline exceeded 8%, dropping to as low as 1684.56.

In the securities market, a sidecar mechanism temporarily suspending program sell orders was triggered for the second consecutive day. This is the first time in 8 years and 7 months since August 8-9, 2011, that a sidecar has been activated two days in a row.

In the securities market, individual investors were net buyers of 338.6 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions were net sellers of 355 billion KRW and 9.2 billion KRW, respectively.

All of the top 10 companies by market capitalization showed declines. Samsung Electronics (5.61%), SK Hynix (6.28%), Samsung Biologics (5.80%), NAVER (7.81%), and LG Chem (7.17%) all fell.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index recorded 522.75, down 40.74 points (7.23%) from the previous close.

The KOSDAQ started at 536.62, down 26.87 points (4.77%) from the previous close, and the downward trend deepened.

In the KOSDAQ market, individual investors were net sellers of 132.8 billion KRW. In contrast, foreigners and institutions were net buyers of 104.5 billion KRW and 28.7 billion KRW, respectively.

Among the top market cap stocks, only Pearl Abyss (2.92%) rose. Meanwhile, Celltrion Healthcare (2.89%), HL Biopharma (4.46%), CJ ENM (6.61%), and Studio Dragon (6.03%) declined.

On that day in the KOSDAQ market, a Level 1 circuit breaker temporarily halted trading at 9:04:01 a.m. This was the first time a circuit breaker was triggered in the KOSDAQ market since February 12, 2016, over 4 years and 1 month ago.

The exchange explained, "The KOSDAQ index fell more than 8% from the previous day's closing price and sustained this for one minute, resulting in a 20-minute suspension of trading in the KOSDAQ market." At 9:04 a.m., the KOSDAQ was at 516.20, down 47.29 points (8.39%) from the previous trading day. The Level 1 circuit breaker was lifted at 9:24:01 a.m.

Subsequently, at 9:38:34 a.m., a sidecar was triggered, temporarily suspending program sell orders. This was due to fluctuations in the KOSDAQ150 futures price and the spot index (KOSDAQ150). At the time of the sidecar activation, the KOSDAQ150 futures price was down 6.47%, and the spot index (KOSDAQ150) was down 7.33% from the previous day. As a result, program sell orders in the KOSDAQ market were suspended for 5 minutes.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.