Meeting called to assess plunge in US stocks and overnight futures

The Kospi plunged at the open on Friday, triggering a sell-side sidecar, while the won-dollar rate surged past 1,540 won. The display board at Hana Bank's dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul, shows the won-dollar rate at 1,540 won and the Kospi at around 8,050 on Friday morning. Photo taken using multiple-exposure composite technique. By Lim Se-jun
The Kospi plunged at the open on Friday, triggering a sell-side sidecar, while the won-dollar rate surged past 1,540 won. The display board at Hana Bank's dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul, shows the won-dollar rate at 1,540 won and the Kospi at around 8,050 on Friday morning. Photo taken using multiple-exposure composite technique. By Lim Se-jun

By Jung Yoon-hee, The Herald Business

Korea Exchange convened an emergency market review meeting at 8 a.m. Monday in response to growing volatility in domestic and overseas markets.

The meeting assessed the sharp drop in US stocks and overnight futures from the previous session and discussed measures to manage market conditions going forward.

Korea Exchange said it would strengthen a company-wide response posture to proactively address rising market volatility and ensure stable operations. It also plans to closely monitor global markets, Middle East developments and exchange rate movements in close coordination with financial authorities.

The exchange said it would particularly step up preventive efforts against unfair trading that exploits market uncertainty, and expand its scrutiny of illegal short selling.

Korea Exchange Chairman Jeong Eun-bo urged all staff to "stay alert and devote every effort to stable market operations so the exchange can respond swiftly to sudden market swings."

The Kospi was expected to face further downward pressure Monday from the Wall Street selloff and heightened Middle East tensions, fueling fears of a "Black Monday."

On the last trading day, Friday, the Kospi tumbled 5.54 percent to close at 8,160.59, weighed down by a sharp rise in the won-dollar rate and weakness in major semiconductor stocks. The 478.82-point decline was the third-largest single-day point drop in the index's history. At its intraday low, the Kospi fell as far as 8,038.10, briefly threatening the 8,000 level.

Wall Street also closed lower across the board late last week as strong US jobs data stoked fears of an interest rate hike. Technology stocks bore the brunt of the selling — Nvidia fell 6.20 percent, Micron Technology dropped 13.25 percent and ADM declined 10.86 percent, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 10.26 percent.

A sustained rise in the won-dollar rate added to concerns, with the rate climbing as high as 1,561 won in overnight trading.


yuni@heraldcorp.com