A currency trader works near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Seoul, South Korea — South Korean stocks plunged more than 10 percent in afternoon trade Monday as Asian markets tracked a sell-off on Wall Street after poor US jobs data fuelled recession fears.
The benchmark Kospi index dived 10.75 percent, or 287.64 points, to 2,388.55, while the exchange trading was suspended for 20 minutes as a circuit breaker kicked in to ease volatility.
The last time a circuit breaker was activated was four years ago during the pandemic.
READ: Asian stocks tank after US data fans recession fears
The small-cap Kosdaq also dropped more than eight percent and a so-called sidecar mechanism was triggered.
Sidecars kick in when index futures experience significant drops or spikes, pausing programme trading for five minutes to mitigate drastic fluctuations.
Samsung Electronics, the market bellwether, dropped 9.55 percent while SK hynix plummeted nearly 10 percent.
The South Korean won also weakened on Monday, having hit a more than two-month high against the dollar on Friday.