A stock ticker in the dealing room of Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul shows the won-dollar exchange rate, KOSPI and Kosdaq indices, Monday. Yonhap
Korean stocks were trading more than 6 percent lower late Monday morning as investors dumped market heavyweights amid a tech slump sparked by a U.S. chip slide and concerns over a possible hawkish pivot of the U.S. Federal Reserve. The local currency was trading sharply lower against the U.S. dollar after opening at a 17-year low.
After falling nearly 9 percent, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had plunged 492.8 points, or 6.04 percent, to 7,667.79 as of 11:20 a.m.
With the sharp fall, the Korea Exchange (KRX) had activated a circuit breaker for the KOSPI about three minutes after opening, halting trading for 20 minutes, and implemented a consecutive sell-side sidecar at around 9:34 a.m.
The KRX had also issued a sell-side sidecar for the secondary KOSDAQ market about six minutes after opening, suspending trading for five minutes.
