KOSPI Surges, Buy-Sidecar Triggered... SK hynix Jumps Over 10%

KOSPI Jumps Over 5% in Early Trading
Samsung Electronics Also Surges Over 7%

The KOSPI index surged sharply in the early session, triggering a buy-sidecar (temporary suspension of program trading order effectiveness).

On the 20th, when the KOSPI index surged more than 4% in the early session and a buy-sidecar was triggered, the domestic stock market index was displayed on the electronic board at the Hana Bank dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul. The won-dollar exchange rate was 1,389 won as of 9:05 AM, down 8.7 won from the previous day's closing price. Photo by Jinhyung Kang, August 20, 2026.

As of 10:18 a.m. on August 20, the KOSPI was trading at 6,784.82, up 313.65 points (4.85%) from the previous session's close.

At around 9:57:10 a.m. in the early session, the KOSPI 200 Futures Index rose by 51.90 points (5.10%) to reach 1,068.15 compared to the previous day's closing price, which triggered a buy-sidecar in the main stock market.

The KOSPI buy-sidecar is triggered when the KOSPI 200 Futures price rises by 5% or more and this increase persists for one minute.

Led by semiconductor shares, the KOSPI index posted a more than 5% gain in early trading. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix were up by over 7% and over 10%, respectively.

This surge appears to have been driven by SK hynix’s announcement of a shareholder return policy the previous day. On August 19, SK hynix said in a public disclosure that it would buy back and cancel its own shares worth approximately 40 trillion won from August 20 through November 19.

Meanwhile, the KOSDAQ index was trading at 836.64, up 12.18 points (1.48%) from the previous session's close.

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