SEOUL, March 3 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's benchmark KOSPI triggered a sell sidecar Tuesday after a bout of panic selling amid escalating Middle East conflict.
The KOSPI tumbled 325.66 points, or 5.22 percent, to trade at 5,918.47 as of 12:28 p.m. local time (0328 GMT), and the smaller KOSDAQ dipped 31.09 points, or 2.61 percent, to 1,161.69.
The KOSPI opened 1.26 percent lower and dived below the psychological mark of 6,000 points early in the session.
The extreme volatility activated the sell sidecar as the KOSPI 200 futures dropped over 5 percent.
The sidecar refers to a temporary halt of program trading orders for five minutes that is triggered when the KOSPI 200 futures rise or fall by more than 5 percent for at least one minute.
The South Korean currency won versus the U.S. dollar exchange rate surged by over 25 won per dollar, climbing to a mid-1,460 won range.
Foreign investors led the sell-off in the KOSPI, while retail investors prevented the deeper rout through a dip-buying in the KOSPI. ■
