Seoul: The Korea Exchange (KRX) issued a circuit breaker on the country's main stock market Monday amid extreme jitters following recent geopolitics surrounding U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran and rising oil prices. The KRX issued the measure at 10:31 a.m., after the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) crashed 452.8 points, or 8.11 percent, to 5,132.07.
According to Yonhap News Agency, earlier in the day, the main bourse operator activated a sell-side sidecar, suspending sales for five minutes, which is triggered when the KOSPI 200 Futures index moves 5 percent or more for at least one minute. Investors kept watchful eyes on the global energy price volatility, with the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude surpassing US$100 per barrel Sunday (U.S. time).
The Korean won was trading at 1,497.4 won against the U.S. dollar as of 10:40 a.m., down 21 won from the previous session.