South Korea's KOSPI halted after an 8.02 percent plunge, the eighth trading halt this year

South Korea's stock market fell sharply on Tuesday, 28 July 2026 (6 Mordad 1405). According to the Korea Exchange (KRX), at 10:13:43 a.m. Seoul time the KOSPI stood at 6,213.51, down 542.24 points or 8.02 percent from the previous close. Because the index stayed more than 8 percent below the prior day's close for a full minute, a Level 1 circuit breaker was triggered and trading in all shares was suspended for 20 minutes, the eighth such halt this year.

Earlier the same day the index had fallen more than 5 percent, triggering a sell-side sidecar. Citing the Yonhap news agency, the main driver was the slide in US semiconductor shares on Monday, 27 July, when Nvidia fell nearly 5 percent.

The selloff reached Japan as well: the Nikkei dropped 4.31 percent the same day to 62,135 points, against 64,931 at Monday's close. The KOSPI has lost close to 20 percent over the past month.