KOSPI starts with a sharp decline of over 4% (Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Ji-eun = On the 16th, the status board at the Hana Bank dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul, displays the KOSPI and other indices. On this day, the KOSPI opened at 6,960.50, down 323.91 points (4.45%) from the previous trading session, and the KOSDAQ index opened at 813.32, down 16.11 points (1.94%). 2026.7.16 jieunlee@yna.co.kr

 Following the KOSPI market, a sidecar (temporary suspension of program sell orders) was also triggered in the KOSDAQ market on the 16th amid a sharp market downturn.

According to the Korea Exchange, the program sell orders on the KOSPI market were suspended for five minutes starting at approximately 9:10:26 a.m. today due to fluctuations in the KOSPI 200 futures index.

At the time the sidecar was triggered, the KOSPI 200 futures index stood at 1,104.40, down 60.92 points (5.22%) from the previous trading day's closing price.

A sell sidecar in the KOSPI market is triggered when the KOSPI 200 futures index falls by 5% or more and this state persists for one minute.

Subsequently, a sell sidecar was also triggered in the KOSDAQ market starting at 10:20 a.m. today, suspending program sell orders for five minutes.

At the time of activation, the KOSDAQ 150 futures price was 1,368.60, down 88.50 points (6.07%) from the previous day's close, and the KOSDAQ 150 spot index had fallen 79.66 points (5.52%) to 1,362.81.

A KOSDAQ sell sidecar is triggered when the KOSDAQ 150 futures price falls by 6% or more from the base price and the KOSDAQ 150 index falls by 3% or more from the previous trading day's final closing value, with both conditions persisting simultaneously for at least one minute.

While buy sidecars were triggered in both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets during the sharp rally the previous day, the market sentiment shifted rapidly in just one day as it turned toward a steep decline.

As of 10:30 a.m. today, the KOSPI is down 7.06% at 6,770.19. The KOSDAQ index is down 4.50% at 792.09.