KOSPI Plunges Over 6% in Early Trading, Triggers Sell-Sidecar

KOSDAQ Also Drops Over 3%

The KOSPI experienced a sharp decline of over 6% in early trading, triggering a sell-sidecar. The KOSDAQ also registered a downward trend.

As of around 9:15 a.m. on the 19th, the KOSPI was trading at 6,425.11, down 6.47% from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange. The index had opened at 6,528.77, a drop of 4.96%. Then, at approximately 9:06 a.m., a sell-sidecar was activated on the main board, temporarily suspending the effectiveness of program sell orders for five minutes. The KOSPI200 futures, which served as the basis for the activation, fell by 65 points (6.02%) from the previous session’s reference price of 1,078.26 to 1,013.26. The sell-sidecar is triggered if the KOSPI200 futures price declines by 5% or more compared to the reference price and remains at that level for at least one minute.

Foreign investors and institutions recorded net sales of KRW 778.3 billion and KRW 165.3 billion respectively, while retail investors posted a net purchase of KRW 926.3 billion.

By sector, all categories posted losses. The electrical and electronics sector dropped by 8%, while manufacturing fell by 7.05%. Insurance (-6.67%), financials (-6.6%), retail (-6.08%), telecommunications (-5.46%), and medical/precision equipment (-5.36%) also declined.

On the 18th, the KOSPI index rose more than 3% in the early session, recovering the 7200 level. The current status of the domestic stock market was displayed throughout the dealing room at the headquarters of Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul. 2026.8.18 Photo by Jin Hyung Kang

Among the top market cap stocks, all except Hanwha Aerospace (up 2.9%) moved lower. SK Square fell by 11.9%, Samsung Life Insurance (-10.7%), SK hynix (-9.5%), HD Hyundai Electric (-9.1%), Samsung C&T (-8.5%), SK Inc. (-8.4%), Doosan (-8%), and Samsung Electronics (-7.4%) were among the notable decliners.

KOSDAQ was also trading lower, down 3.49% to 805.08 compared to the previous session.

Foreign investors showed KRW 50.4 billion in net buying, while retail and institutional investors posted net sales of KRW 18.3 billion and KRW 29.8 billion, respectively.

The performance of leading market cap stocks was mixed. ISC rose by 3.3%, while Robotis (2.6%), Silicontwo (1.9%), EO Technics (1.9%), and Gigavis (1.6%) also gained. On the other hand, Padoo dropped by 8.9%, with Classys (-8%), Seojin System (-6.4%), Daehan Fiber Optic Communications (-5.9%), Woori Technology (-5.9%), Park Systems (-5.5%), and Jeju Semiconductor (-5.5%) all moving lower.

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