The benchmark KOSPI is displayed at a dealing room at Hana Bank in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
Korean stocks opened sharply lower Tuesday, dragged down by losses in tech shares following a selloff in chipmakers on Wall Street.
After opening 5.26 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) extended losses, falling 432.95 points, or 6.41 percent, to 6,322.80 as of 9:15 a.m.
The Korea Exchange, the country's bourse operator, activated a sell-side sidecar for the KOSPI for 20 minutes at 9:06 a.m. after the benchmark index fell more than 5 percent.
Overnight Wall Street finished mixed. The Nasdaq declined 0.18 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.51 percent.
