KOSPI Triggers Circuit Breaker After Falling 8%

KOSDAQ also falls more than 6%, triggering a sell-sidecar

The KOSPI plunged more than 8% shortly after opening, falling below the 5,000 mark and triggering a circuit breaker.

As of 9:50 a.m. on Nov. 6, the KOSPI was trading at 4,961.62, down 7.84% from the previous session. The index opened at 5,263.26, down 2.24% from the previous day, and a Level 1 circuit breaker was triggered at around 9:03 a.m. It is triggered when the KOSPI remains at least 8% below the previous day's closing level for one minute. Trading is halted for 20 minutes. This was the 11th trigger this year and the 17th on record.

By investor group, foreign investors were net sellers of KRW 302 billion, while individuals and institutions were net buyers of KRW 25.7 billion and KRW 235.4 billion, respectively.

All sectors were down. Electric and electronic equipment fell 9.92%, while securities (-9.35%), machinery and equipment (-9.4%), manufacturing (-8.92%), construction (-8.2%), insurance (-7.64%) and financials (-7.58%) also declined.

Among the top companies by market capitalization, shares fell across the board except for Samsung Biologics (up 1%) and Hanjin KAL (up 0.5%). Hyosung Heavy Industries fell 14.6%, while LS ELECTRIC (-13.3%), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (-13%), HD Hyundai Electric (-12.5%), SK Square (-11.8%), Hanmi Semiconductor (-11.5%) and SK hynix (-11.3%) also declined. Samsung Electronics fell 9.1%.

A display shows the domestic stock market at the dealing room of Hana Bank's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Nov. 6, as the KOSPI plunged more than 8% shortly after opening, triggering a circuit breaker. Nov. 6, 2026. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

The KOSDAQ was also down. As of the same time, the index was trading at 633.24, down 6.66% from the previous day. It opened at 654.43, down 3.53% from the previous session, and a sell-sidecar was triggered at around 9:06 a.m. A sidecar is a market-stabilizing measure that suspends the effect of program-trading orders for five minutes. It is triggered when the KOSDAQ 150 futures price rises or falls by at least 6% from the previous day's closing price and remains at that level for at least one minute.

By investor group, foreign investors and individuals were net sellers of KRW 47.5 billion and KRW 35.5 billion, respectively, while institutions were net buyers of KRW 80.7 billion.

Most of the top companies by market capitalization were also down. FADU fell 14%, while Hana Micron (-13.1%), Eugene Technology (-12.2%), Jeju Semiconductor (-12.2%), PSK (-12%), Taihan Fiberoptics (-12%), SIMTECH (-11.8%) and TES (-11.7%) also declined.

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