The Kospi plunged at the opening bell on Monday, 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 Monday morning. Photo taken using multiple-exposure composite technique. By Lim Se-jun
The Kospi plunged at the opening bell on Monday, 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 Monday morning. Photo taken using multiple-exposure composite technique. By Lim Se-jun

By Jung Yoon-hee, The Herald Business

The Kospi fell below the 8,000 mark on Monday, just nine trading sessions after it first closed above that threshold on May 26. The drop came as US semiconductor stocks tumbled over the weekend and the won-dollar rate surpassed 1,560 won in overnight trading.

As of 9:02 a.m., the Kospi stood at 7,782.53, down 378.06 points, or 4.63 percent, from the previous session, according to Korea Exchange. The index opened 112.50 points, or 1.38 percent, lower at 8,048.09 and continued to extend losses.

As the market went into freefall shortly after the opening bell, Korea Exchange triggered a circuit breaker at 9:03:42 a.m.


yuni@heraldcorp.com