KOSPI Surpasses 5,900... Sidecar Triggered for Ninth Time This Year (Update)

Triggered Again After Six Trading Days
Fourth Buy-Side Sidecar Activation This Year

On March 18, the KOSPI200 futures price surged by more than 5% during trading, triggering a buy-side sidecar (temporary suspension of program buy orders) on the Korea Exchange for the fourth time this year.

The Korea Exchange announced that at 2:34:13 p.m. on this day, it activated a buy-side sidecar in the KOSPI market. At the time of activation, the KOSPI200 futures index had jumped 5.08% from the previous trading day to reach 887.25.

The KOSPI sidecar is triggered when the KOSPI200 futures price rises by 5% or more from the reference price and maintains that level for one minute. When triggered, the effectiveness of program buy orders is suspended for five minutes.

This is the first time in six trading days that a buy-side sidecar has been triggered on the KOSPI market since March 10. So far this year, the sidecar has been triggered a total of nine times (four buy-side, five sell-side).

As of 3:03 p.m. on March 18, the KOSPI index stood at 5,916.86, up 4.88% from the previous day. The KOSDAQ index also rose by 2.02% from the previous day to 1,159.89.

On the 18th, buoyed by a rebound in the U.S. stock market, the KOSPI index rose for the third consecutive trading day, reclaiming the 5700 mark. The current status of the domestic stock market was displayed on the electronic board at the Hana Bank dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul. Early in the trading session, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix also surpassed 200,000 KRW and 1,000,000 KRW respectively. March 18, 2026 Photo by Kang Jinhyung

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.