SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korean stocks plunged over 8 percent on Thursday, triggering consecutive circuit breakers on both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets.
The benchmark KOSPI dropped 481.69 points, or 8.02 percent, to trade at 5,527.12 at 12:52 p.m. local time, and the tech-heavy KOSDAQ plummeted 66.07 points, or 8.02 percent, to 757.81.
The Korea Exchange activated the first trading halt on the KOSDAQ market at 12:23 p.m., suspending all trading on the KOSPI market for 20 minutes at 12:38 p.m.
The trading halts, known as circuit breakers, were triggered on both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets on the same day for the first time in about two and a half months since July 29.
Before the full trading halts, the bourse operator already issued consecutive sidecars, or program trading curbs, on both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets.
The severe market meltdown was attributed to harder-than-expected inflation data in the United States that renewed fears over the possible prolongation of high interest rates.
Memory chip heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK hynix faced intense selling pressure, dropping 9.7 percent and 11.35 percent each.
The tech sell-off was fueled by growing market skepticism over the long-term payoff of massive artificial intelligence expenditures.
Foreign investors dumped domestic stocks, causing a cascading effect across the overall stock markets. ■