Temporary Suspension of KOSPI and KOSDAQ Trading... 'First Ever' Simultaneous Activation

KOSPI Falls Over 8%, Breaks Below 1700 During Session... KOSDAQ Also Drops to 400 Level

On the 13th, foreign exchange dealers were working in the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Euljiro, Seoul. On the same day, the KOSPI fell below the 1700 mark during trading hours. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporters Bomryeong Geum, Jaehee Kwon] The KOSPI index fell below the 1700 mark during trading. The KOSDAQ also failed to hold the 500 level. Both the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) market and the KOSDAQ market triggered circuit breakers that temporarily halted trading, as well as sidecars that temporarily suspended the effectiveness of program sell orders. This simultaneous activation of these measures is unprecedented.

At 11 a.m. on the 13th, the KOSPI recorded 1685.08, down 8.14% (149.25 points) from the previous close.

In the Korea Composite Stock Price Index market, the sidecar was triggered for the second consecutive day following the previous 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. Subsequently, the circuit breaker was also triggered.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index fell 12.40% (69.90 points) from the previous close to 493.59.

Safe-haven bond yields also surged sharply (bond prices plummeted). At 9:45 a.m. in the Seoul bond market, the 3-year government bond yield rose 10.8 basis points (1bp = 0.01 percentage points) from the previous trading day to 1.170% annually.

The won-dollar exchange rate hit its highest level in four years. In the Seoul foreign exchange market at 9:26 a.m., the won-dollar exchange rate traded at 1,223.0 won per dollar, up 16.5 won from the previous day's closing price.

Global stock markets also experienced a domino collapse. On the 12th (local time), the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) had its worst day since the shocking 'Black Monday' of 1987, which marked 120 years of history. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 9.99% (2,352.60 points) to close at 21,200.62, the S&P 500 index dropped 9.51% (260.74 points) to finish at 2,480.64, and the Nasdaq closed down 9.43% (750.25 points) at 7,201.80.

Asian stock markets also fell into panic. On the 13th, at 10:30 a.m. in Tokyo, Japan, the Nikkei 225 index traded at 16,832.11, down 9.31% (1,727.52 points) from the previous day. The TOPIX index also declined 8.82% (117.15 points) to 1,210.73.

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