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South Korea’s benchmark Kospi fell more than 8% and broke below 5,000 early Friday, November 6, prompting the Korea Exchange to halt trading in Kospi-listed shares for 20 minutes. The circuit breaker added to a wave of technology-stock selling that had battered Wall Street during Thursday’s U.S. session.
The exchange activated the halt at 9:03 a.m. Seoul time, according to Yonhap and Money Today, which cited Korea Exchange data. That was 7:03 p.m. Thursday in New York.
Trading resumes after a 20-minute pause
The stage-one circuit breaker temporarily suspended Kospi trading after the steep fall. Yonhap reported the resumption of trading at 9:24 a.m., following the 20-minute pause.
Money Today explained that a first-stage halt is triggered when the index stays at least 8% below the previous close for a minute. It also reported a separate sell-side sidecar in the Kosdaq market at 9:06 a.m. That measure suspends the effect of program-trading orders for five minutes and is different from the broader Kospi circuit breaker.
The reports agree that the Kospi fell more than 8% and passed below 5,000.
AI concerns spread beyond Wall Street
Yonhap linked the selling to concerns that the Democrats’ U.S. midterm-election gains could slow artificial-intelligence data-center expansion. Money Today likewise described investor worries about AI regulation.
CNBC, in live coverage updated at 7:44 p.m. Eastern Thursday, reported Japan’s Nikkei down more than 6% in the early Friday session. A Reuters report carried by Newsweek Japan published at 9:39 a.m. Tokyo time also documented a decline of more than 6%, independently corroborating the scale of the drop.
CNBC described the Nikkei as entering bear-market territory, more than 20% below its June peak. Technology-related shares led the regional selling.
Aju Press, reporting at 9:40 a.m. Seoul and citing Korea Exchange data, also described the Kospi’s fall of more than 8% and the 20-minute circuit breaker.
Asian chip shares extend the selling
In a separate report published Thursday at 7:59 p.m. Eastern and reviewed for this update at 8:20 p.m., CNBC reported these early-Friday intraday declines: SK Hynix more than 8%, Samsung Electronics 7%, Advantest 12.2%, Tokyo Electron 7.3%, SoftBank Group 11.6% and TSMC 9.6%.
The breadth of the selling matters to readers with chip-stock or AI-supplier exposure: sentiment surrounding AI spending can reach Asian equipment, memory and contract-chip companies as well as U.S. names such as Nvidia.
For readers whose retirement or international index funds hold Korean equities, including Samsung or SK Hynix, the selloff can affect those holdings even without direct stock ownership. Exposure depends on the fund’s actual portfolio.
South Korea’s latest move follows a separate selloff during Thursday’s Asian session. The immediate development is the sharp early-session decline and the exchange’s temporary market-stabilization response. Later prices may differ substantially as trading continues.
JBizNews Desk | Global & Markets
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