By Kwanwoo Jun
South Korean regulators briefly halted trading in the local equities market on Monday following a sharp selloff spurred by fears of a U.S. economic recession.
The Korea Exchange temporarily activated a five-minute "sidecar" limit to halt orders for program trading early Monday after the Kospi 200 Futures index fell more than 5%. The curb is designed to limit excessive moves in the stock market.
The Kospi continued to stumble after trading resumed, falling 5.8% to 2521.92. That put it on course for its steepest daily drop in more than four years.
The selloff was broad and heavy, with shipbuilding and large-cap semiconductor stocks leading the retreat. Index heavyweight Samsung Electronics fell 7.4%, while memory-chip maker SK Hynix lost 6.8%. Shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries slumped 11%.
Foreign investors remained staunch net sellers, with institutional investors switching to the selling side after being net buyers earlier in the session.
The Kospi got off to a weak start Monday after Friday's softer-than-expected U.S. jobs data renewed concerns that the world's largest economy may be heading for a recession.
The U.S. Labor Department reported a below-estimate 114,000 jobs created in July and an unexpected increase in the unemployment rate to 4.3% from 4.1%. The weaker-than-expected jobs growth followed a negative manufacturing report on Thursday, adding to signs of a U.S. slowdown after a solid second quarter.
Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
08-05-24 0009ET
