Circuit Breaker Triggered as KOSPI Plunges to 7,400 Early; KOSDAQ Also Down 7%

Circuit Breaker Activated for the Third Time This Year
KOSDAQ Triggers Sell-Sidecar Early in the Session

The KOSPI triggered a circuit breaker in the early session on the 8th after plunging more than 8%. The KOSDAQ also started with a 4% decline and is extending its losses.

On this day, the KOSPI opened at 8,048.09, down 112.50 points (1.38%) from the previous session. However, it immediately plunged as much as 8.37% to 7,742.73 after the market opened, and at approximately 9:03 a.m., the first stage of the circuit breaker was activated.

The KOSPI index plunged more than 8% immediately after the market opened on the 8th, falling to the 7,400 level. The exchange rate, KOSPI, and KOSDAQ indices are displayed on the status board in the dealing room at the headquarters of Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul. June 8, 2026 Photo by Dongju Yoon

Stage 1 of the circuit breaker is a measure that halts trading on the KOSPI market for 20 minutes if the index falls more than 8% from the previous day's closing price and remains at that level for one minute. This is the third activation this year, following March 4 and 9, when the U.S.-Iran war broke out.

Immediately after the market opened, foreign investors sold KRW 229.6 billion, and institutions sold KRW 68.9 billion. Individual investors, meanwhile, made a net purchase of KRW 304.5 billion.

All industry sectors are showing declines. Insurance (-10.06%) saw the steepest drop, followed by securities (-9.79%), distribution (-9.68%), construction (-9.67%), electrical and electronics (-8.82%), manufacturing (-8.50%), finance (-8.35%), transportation equipment and parts (-8.17%), machinery and equipment (-7.74%), general services (-7.55%), and metals (-7.44%).

Top market cap stocks are also sharply lower. Samsung Electronics (-9.27%), SK hynix (-8.02%), SK Square (-11.13%), Hyundai Motor (-9.86%), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (-9.16%), LG Energy Solution (-3.86%), Samsung Life Insurance (-14.91%), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (-4.97%), Samsung C&T (-12.38%), and KB Financial Group (-5.07%) are among those posting large losses.

The KOSDAQ opened at 959.61, down 42.83 points (4.27%) from the previous session, but as of 9:18 a.m., its loss widened to 7.63%, trading at 926.16. In the KOSDAQ market, foreign investors had a net purchase of KRW 135.2 billion, while individuals and institutions had a net sale of KRW 76.9 billion and KRW 26.2 billion, respectively.

A sell-sidecar was also triggered after the index fell more than 5% and remained at that level for one minute at around 9:06 a.m. The sell-sidecar suspends the effectiveness of program sell orders for five minutes from its activation.

Major KOSDAQ stocks are also declining. Alteogen (-9.32%), Ecopro BM (-9.33%), Ecopro (-9.45%), Rainbow Robotics (-8.53%), Jusung Engineering (-5.14%), Kolon TissueGene (-6.65%), LIG Nex1 (-8.18%), HLB (-5.83%), Samchundang Pharm (-10.45%), and Wonik IPS (-6.78%) are among the biggest losers.

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