Due to a downturn in U.S. tech stocks, the KOSPI index fell more than 9%, dropping below the 6200 mark. Early in the trading session, both the main stock market and the KOSDAQ experienced a series of program sell orders, leading to a significant decline in investor sentiment.
According to the Korea Exchange, as of 11:02 a.m., the KOSPI was down 621.83 points (9.20%) at 6133.92. The index opened at 6400.27, down 355.48 points (5.26%) from the previous trading day, and continued to decline.
The sharp drop prompted the activation of sell-side circuit breakers at 9:06 a.m. in the main market and at 9:14 a.m. in the KOSDAQ. Subsequently, at 10:13 a.m., the first-level circuit breaker was triggered in the main market for the eighth time this year, marking the 14th occurrence in history.
The first-level circuit breaker is activated when the KOSPI index falls more than 8% compared to the previous trading day and remains at that level for one minute. When triggered, all stock trading is halted for 20 minutes.
In the main market, foreign and institutional investors sold a net 2.628 trillion won and 532 billion won, respectively. In contrast, individual investors bought a net 2.1071 trillion won, indicating a move towards bargain hunting.
Most of the top market capitalization stocks in the KOSPI are experiencing declines. Samsung Electronics fell 10.43%, SK Hynix dropped 12.39%, SK Square decreased by 13.78%, Samsung Electro-Mechanics fell 15.25%, Hyundai Motor dropped 7.94%, LG Energy Solution declined 4.95%, KB Financial fell 2.20%, and Samsung Life Insurance decreased by 9.63%. However, Samsung Biologics saw a rise of 1.04%.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ index recorded a decline of 54.54 points (7.13%), standing at 710.32. The index opened at 742.13, down 22.73 points (2.97%) from the previous day, and continued to widen its losses.
In the KOSDAQ market, individual investors purchased a net 112.5 billion won, while foreign and institutional investors sold a net 412 billion won and 706 billion won, respectively.
Top market capitalization stocks in the KOSDAQ are also showing weakness. Alteogen fell 4.81%, EcoPro dropped 7.32%, EcoPro BM decreased by 7.33%, Rainbow Robotics fell 10.20%, JUSUNG Engineering dropped 11.87%, Rino Technology fell 10.17%, Wonik IPS decreased by 14.34%, HLB dropped 4.45%, ABL Bio fell 4.55%, and Pharma Research decreased by 0.14%.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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