The Korea Exchange activated a market-wide circuit breaker on Monday, halting trading on the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) for 20 minutes, following a sharp sell-off triggered by renewed tensions in the Middle East.
The trading halt was initiated around 1:28 PM local time after the KOSPI index plummeted more than 8%.
Investor sentiment turned risk-averse, leading to heavy selling pressure on South Korean equities, as the United States and Iran exchanged attacks over the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
This marks the eighth instance this year that the Korea Exchange has been forced to implement its stock market circuit breaker mechanism.