KRX activates sell-side sidecar for Kospi on sharp decline

South Korea’s benchmark index sank on heavy foreign selling of AI-linked tech stocks, prompting the Korea Exchange to suspend program selling.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi at 6,452.37 points during intraday trading on Aug. 6, down 145.89 points, or 2.21 percent, from the previous trading session.

Korea's bourse operator on Thursday activated a sell-side sidecar for the Kospi after the index fell sharply, led by tech losses.

Program trading in Kospi-listed shares was suspended for five minutes around 10:18 a.m., according to the Korea Exchange (KRX).

The Kospi fell by more than 4 percent.

The decline came as foreign investors sold off AI-related stocks, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, after a sharp rebound in the past two consecutive sessions amid lingering concerns over massive AI spending.

A sell-side sidecar is triggered when the Kospi 200 Futures Index falls 5 percent or more for at least one minute.


Yonhap