South Korean stocks triggered trading halt on Friday after both the benchmark Kospi and the small-cap Kosdaq plunged over 8 percent.
The bourse operator issued a circuit breaker on the Kospi at 10:43 a.m. local time to suspend trading for 20 minutes. It was issued as the index dropped over 8 percent for more than a minute.
The Kospi tumbled 149.40 points, or 8.14 percent, to trade at 1,684.93 at the time. It marked the first time in about 18 and a half years that the circuit breaker was activated in the main bourse.
Four minutes after the open, the small-cap Kosdaq plummeted over 8 percent for more than a minute, triggering the circuit breaker.
It was the first time that the circuit breaker was activated both in the Kospi and the Kosdaq in a single day.
At 9:06 a.m. local time, a sidecar was activated in the Kospi for the second straight day to suspend program trading for five minutes. It is imposed when stock futures fluctuate more than 5 percent for at least a minute.
The sidecar was issued in the Kosdaq at 9:38 a.m. local time.