KOSPI, KOSDAQ Open Down More Than 5%, Triggering Sell-Sidecars

Both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ opened lower, triggering sell-sidecar measures.

As of 9:18 a.m. on Oct. 15, the KOSPI was trading at 5,632.96, down 375.85 points (6.25%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 5,673.01, down 335.8 points (5.59%) from the previous close. Seven minutes after the opening, the KOSPI 200 futures index had fallen more than 5% from the previous day, triggering a sell-sidecar measure that suspends program sell orders for five minutes. This was the first such trigger in two days, following the previous one on Oct. 13.

Foreign investors' selling drove the sharp decline. Foreign investors and individual investors were net sellers of KRW 613.3 billion and KRW 1.456 billion, respectively. Institutions were net buyers of KRW 578.4 billion.

Among the KOSPI's largest companies by market capitalization, all were lower except KT&G (up 3%), HMM (up 0.8%) and Hanwha Aerospace (up 0.4%). Hyosung Heavy Industries fell 12.5%, while Samsung Electro-Mechanics (down 12.3%), Doosan (down 11.2%), Hanmi Semiconductor (down 10.8%), SK Square (down 9.8%) and LS ELECTRIC (down 9.4%) also declined. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix fell 7.5% and 9.2%, respectively.

Wall Street’s three major indexes closed mixed amid rising international oil prices due to escalating tensions in the Middle East and reports of technological advances by Chinese memory chipmakers. As semiconductor stocks, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, plunged, South Korean stocks opened lower on Oct. 15. Employees monitor stock and foreign exchange markets in the dealing room at Hana Bank’s headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. The KOSPI opened at 5,673.01, down 335.8 points, or 5.59%, from the previous day’s close of 6,008.81. 2026.10.15 Photo by Cho Yong-jun

At the same time, the KOSDAQ was trading at 771.01, down 52.87 points (6.42%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 784.45, down 39.43 points from the previous close, and a sell-sidecar measure was triggered at 9:12 a.m. Individual investors drove the decline in the KOSDAQ, recording net sales of KRW 45.2 billion. Foreign investors and institutions, by contrast, were net buyers of KRW 38.1 billion and KRW 7.4 billion, respectively.

Among the KOSDAQ's largest companies by market capitalization, all were lower except Seegene (up 0.5%) and SM Entertainment (up 0.1%). TES fell 12.8%, while Eugene Technology (down 12.8%), Jusung Engineering (down 12%), Wonik IPS (down 11.4%), Fadu (down 11%), Koh Young (down 10.9%) and PSK (down 10.8%) also declined.

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