Bourse operator issues circuit breaker for KOSPI on sharp fall

The Korea Exchange (KRX) activated a circuit breaker for the KOSPI on Tuesday after the index plunged more than 8 percent, halting trading for 20 minutes. The sell-off was driven by investors dumping semiconductor shares amid skepticism about tech giants' heavy spending on artificial intelligence. It was the seventh circuit breaker activation this year.

Korea's bourse operator on Tuesday activated a circuit breaker for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index KOSPI on a sell-off in tech shares. Trading of KOSPI-listed shares was halted for 20 minutes. The Korea Exchange KRX triggered the marketwide circuit breaker at around 10:14 a.m. after the KOSPI plunged more than 8 percent from the previous session's close. The benchmark index came under heavy selling pressure as investors sold off semiconductor shares on skepticism about tech giants' heavy spending on artificial intelligence AI . It marked the seventh time this year that the KRX has activated a circuit breaker.