KOSPI Plunges, 11th Sell-Sidecar Triggered This Year (Update)

After the KOSPI index plunged following the market opening on the 8th, a sell-sidecar (temporary halt of program sell orders) was triggered for the 11th time this year.

According to the Korea Exchange, a KOSPI sell-sidecar was triggered at around 9:34 a.m. on this day. The KOSPI sell-sidecar is activated when the KOSPI futures price falls by 5% or more compared to the previous trading day's closing price and remains at that level for one minute. Once triggered, the effectiveness of KOSPI program sell orders is temporarily suspended for five minutes.

The KOSPI index plunged more than 8% as soon as the market opened on the 8th, falling to the 7400 level. The exchange rate, KOSPI, and KOSDAQ indices are displayed on the status board in the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. June 8, 2026. Photo by Dongju Yoon

At the time the sell-sidecar was triggered, KOSPI200 futures had dropped by 6.26% from the previous closing price, trading at 1,216.85.

Earlier, at 9:03 a.m. on the same day, the KOSPI index fell by more than 8% compared to the previous session, prompting the activation of the Level 1 circuit breaker.

The Level 1 circuit breaker is a measure that suspends trading on the KOSPI market for 20 minutes if the index remains down by 8% or more from the previous closing price for one minute. This is the third activation of the year, following March 4 and March 9, when the United States-Iran war broke out.

As of 9:54 a.m. on the same day, the KOSPI was trading at 7,591.26, down 6.98% from the previous session.

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