South Korea's stock market index, the KOSPI, triggered its second circuit breaker in a single week amid the AI chip trade, rattling global markets.
Friday's 8.19% intraday plunge forced another 20-minute halt and dragged Wall Street, Tokyo, and Tokyo-listed SoftBank sharply lower.
The cascade is now the clearest sign that AI chip exposure has become the central risk factor for global equities.
A circuit breaker is an emergency market mechanism that pauses trading when an index drops too sharply within a short timeframe. The Korea Exchange triggered one on Friday at 12:10 p.m. local time after the KOSPI remained more than 8% below the previous close for at least one minute.
The benchmark plunged 731.97 points, sinking to 8,198.33 at the moment of suspension. As a result, traders watched in real time as the index logged its fifth circuit breaker of 2026.
Friday's 8.19% intraday plunge forced another 20-minute halt and dragged Wall Street, Tokyo, and Tokyo-listed SoftBank sharply lower.
The cascade is now the clearest sign that AI chip exposure has become the central risk factor for global equities.
A circuit breaker is an emergency market mechanism that pauses trading when an index drops too sharply within a short timeframe. The Korea Exchange triggered one on Friday at 12:10 p.m. local time after the KOSPI remained more than 8% below the previous close for at least one minute.
The benchmark plunged 731.97 points, sinking to 8,198.33 at the moment of suspension. As a result, traders watched in real time as the index logged its fifth circuit breaker of 2026.
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