Kospi, Kosdaq Trigger Buy Sidecars as South Korean Stocks Surge

South Korean stocks surged on July 10, triggering temporary curbs on program buy orders, known as buy sidecars, on both the Kospi and Kosdaq markets. It marked the 34th sidecar activation this year on the Kospi market, with buy and sell sidecars triggered 17 times each.

The Korea Exchange said program buy orders on the Kospi market were suspended for five minutes starting at 12:54:55 p.m. after a jump in the Kospi 200 futures index. At the time of the trigger, the index was up 5.13% from the previous close at 1,240.15.

A Kospi sidecar is triggered when Kospi 200 futures rise at least 5% from a reference price and hold that level for one minute. It suspends program buy orders for five minutes.

A buy sidecar was then triggered on the Kosdaq market at 1:08:48 p.m. At that point, Kosdaq 150 futures were up 6.04% from the previous close at 1,487.40, while the Kosdaq 150 spot index had climbed 6.44% to 1,476.37.

A Kosdaq buy sidecar is triggered when Kosdaq 150 futures rise at least 6% from a reference price and the Kosdaq 150 index gains at least 3% from the previous trading day's close, with both conditions sustained for one minute.

The Kospi was up more than 5%, while the Kosdaq had gained more than 6%.

Kang Kyung-ju, Hankyung.com reporter qurasoha@hankyung.com