Asia-Pacific markets deepened their losses on Monday as investors reacted to key economic data from Australia, Japan, and China, coupled with last week’s interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan. The Korea Exchange activated sidecar trading curbs on the KOSPI market for the first time since 2020 on Monday, halting program trading for five minutes. This action followed a 5% drop in the KOSPI by 11:11 a.m. local time, adding to Friday’s 3.7% decline and marking the benchmark’s worst session since March 2020.
South Korea has halted all sell orders for program trading due to a dramatic 5% drop in the KOSPI index amid a global equity sell-off. This emergency measure highlights the severity of the market turmoil and aims to stabilize the local market and curb panic selling. The sharp decline in the KOSPI reflects widespread concerns over economic growth and the effects of central bank policies on global markets.
Market Performance:
- Japan’s Nikkei 225:
- Plummeted 8.76% to 32,763.13, marking its lowest level since December 2023.
- South Korea’s Kospi:
- Dropped 8.09% to 2,459.81, reaching its lowest point since January.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng:
- Decreased by 0.22%.
- China’s Shanghai Composite:
- Traded 0.12% lower.
- China’s Shenzhen Composite:
- Went down by 0.12%.
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200:
- Lost 3.34%.
Currency Movement:
- US Dollar:
- Fell 2.15% against the Japanese yen, trading at 143.2260.
