KOSPI Falls 8.4%, Triggers 20-Minute Trading Halt

South Korea’s KOSPI index dropped 8.44% to 7,477 on June 8, a fall of 683 points that prompted a temporary trading halt. The Korea Exchange activated a Level 1 circuit breaker at 9:03 a.m. local time and suspended trading for 20 minutes.

A Level 1 pause is applied when the index falls 8% or more from the previous close and remains at or below that level for at least one minute. The halt was the ninth use of the circuit breaker system on the KOSPI.

Losses were concentrated in chipmakers. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix each declined about 10% intraday. Both firms are major suppliers of memory chips and hardware for artificial intelligence systems and carry large weight in the benchmark.

The selloff followed a weaker sales outlook for AI chips from a major U.S. semiconductor company, which triggered a regional decline in semiconductor stocks. Stronger-than-expected U.S. employment data renewed expectations of additional Federal Reserve interest-rate increases. Remarks by the U.S. president about a proposed U.S.-brokered deal with Iran added to geopolitical uncertainty.

The equity rout coincided with declines in cryptocurrencies. South Korea is a highly active crypto market, and bitcoin had fallen to an intraday low near $59,100 earlier in the week before a partial rebound.

After trading resumed, market participants monitored chip demand, upcoming U.S. economic reports and geopolitical developments. The circuit breaker paused activity but did not change the factors driving the decline.