Trading Halted Again on Back-to-Back Days... First-Ever Circuit Breaker Mechanism on Consecutive Days [fn Afternoon Market Report]

[Financial News] Circuit breaker mechanisms were triggered in both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ (Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) markets. It is the first time that both markets have activated circuit breakers simultaneously for two straight days, following the previous day.
According to the Korea Exchange on the 29th, circuit breakers were triggered in the KOSDAQ market at 12:19:13 p.m. and in the Korea Exchange Main Board at 12:32:33 p.m. The market stabilization measures were activated after the indices stayed more than 8% below the previous day's close for more than one minute.
A circuit breaker mechanism suspends all stock trading for 20 minutes if an index remains down more than 8% from the previous trading day for one minute. Trading then resumes in a single-price auction after a 10-minute order collection period.
Earlier in the day, sell sidecars were also triggered intraday in both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets.
As of 1:15 p.m., the KOSPI stood at 5,418.66, down 605.00 points, or 10.04%, from the previous trading day, marking another double-digit decline after the previous session. It opened as high as 6,089.11 early in the session, but heavy selling pushed it down to an intraday low.
Semiconductor stocks with large market caps also widened their losses. Samsung Electronics traded at 197,500 won, down 10.23%, while SK hynix traded at 1,303,000 won, down 15.94%, leading the index lower.
The KOSDAQ also extended its sharp decline. At the same time, the KOSDAQ Index fell 64.47 points, or 9.13%, to 641.38. It slipped to 641.29 intraday, setting a new low for the year.
On the previous day, the KOSPI and KOSDAQ plunged 10.84% and 7.72%, respectively, prompting sell sidecars and circuit breaker mechanisms to be triggered in quick succession in both markets. With circuit breakers activated simultaneously in both markets for a second consecutive day, the South Korean stock market continues to face unprecedented volatility.
A securities industry official said, "Foreign investors' heavy selling of semiconductor stocks, liquidation of leveraged products, and weakening investor sentiment are combining to sharply intensify selling pressure across the market."


[email protected] Choi Du-seon Reporter