South Korea’s KOSPI Falls as Much as 8%, Triggering Trading Halt

The KOSPI fell as much as 8% Thursday, triggering a circuit-breaker halt in South Korean trading as a chip sell-off and fears about Federal Reserve policy weighed on the market. The drop erased the index’s gains since its June peak.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix led the decline, with each stock falling between 9% and 11%. The losses put semiconductor shares at the center of the retreat and made chip stocks the clearest pressure point in the session.

Trading was halted after the index’s sharp decline. The circuit breaker followed the 8% slide, a move that marked a broad reversal from the gains accumulated after the June peak.

The sell-off also signaled risk-off pressure across Asian markets. Potential spillover to global technology stocks and crypto markets is a broader concern.