KOSPI tumbles below 7,000, triggering year’s seventh circuit breaker [XFyl1GVCmwh]
코스피 7,000선 붕괴… 올해만 7번째 서킷브레이커 발동 The South Korean stock market tumbled dramatically during trade on this Monday amid profit-taking by institutional investors and renewed geopolitical concerns. Our Baek Ju-hee has the closing numbers. On Monday, the local stock market plunged below the 7,000-point mark for the first time in two months. The benchmark KOSPI closed at 6,806.93, down 8.95 percent from the previous session. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ also suffered heavy losses, ending at 799.36, down 4.55 percent. Retail investors stepped in to buy the dip, but their purchases were not enough to offset heavy selling by foreign and institutional investors. During the session, the Korea Exchange activated a sell-side sidecar on the main KOSPI market at 10:34 AM, marking the 18th sell-side sidecar activation on the KOSPI this year. The sell-off intensified in the afternoon, with the index falling more than 8 percent. The plunge eventually triggered a Level 1 circuit breaker, shutting down the market for 20 minutes. This marks the seventh activation so far this year. The market’s sharp decline was led by the country’s largest technology companies. Samsung Electronics sank more than 10 percent, while chipmaker SK hynix plunged more than 15 percent at the closing bell. The losses came just days after SK hynix made its Nasdaq debut through American Depositary Receipts on Friday. Despite the successful debut, institutional profit-taking and growing geopolitical risks fueled heavy selling in the domestic market. "Samsung Electronics and SK hynix together account for nearly 60 percent of the KOSPI, so increased volatility in these two stocks inevitably leads to greater volatility in the overall index. The recent concentration of investment flows through products such as leveraged ETFs has further amplified price swings in major semiconductor stocks, particularly Samsung Electronics and SK hynix." The market volatility was also driven by escalating geopolitical tensions. After Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, international oil prices surged, with Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude rising by around 4 percent amid fears of global inflation and supply chain disruptions. Experts advise investors to closely monitor developments in the Middle East and changes in foreign and institutional investment flows, as market volatility is expected to remain high. Baek Ju-hee, Arirang News. #SouthKorea #Stock #Market #KOSPI #KOSDAQ #Circuit_breaker #대한민국 #주식 #증시 #코스피 #코스닥 #서킷브레이커 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : 📣 Youtube : 📣 Homepage : 2026-07-13, 17:00 (KST)