South Korea's KOSPI Closes Up 0.62% After Volatile Session and Sidecar Trading Halt
Key Facts
The South Korean KOSPI index closed up 0.62% at 5,683.80 on Thursday, November 5, 2026, following a session of extreme volatility. InvestingLive reported that the Korea Exchange triggered a 'sidecar' mechanism to suspend program trading for five minutes earlier in the day after the index had plunged approximately 4%.
Foreign investors sold a net 2.4998 trillion won as the market reacted to U.S. midterm election results and global technology sector movements. This recovery follows economic data from November 2, 2026, which showed South Korea's annual inflation rate cooling to 2.8% and a Manufacturing PMI reading of 51.3.
South Korea is scheduled to release its unemployment rate on November 10, 2026, with market forecasts expecting a rate of 2.8% up from the previous 2.6%.
Latest Updates · 3
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Update: A broad rout in semiconductor stocks pressured the KOSPI index, leading to the activation of the 'Sidecar' trading halt mechanism during the session. This sell-off in the chip sector acted as the primary driver for the extreme volatility witnessed on the Korea Exchange on November 5, 2026.
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Update: The session saw a sharp decline in semiconductor heavyweights, with Samsung Electronics shares falling 6.65% and SK hynix dropping 8.88%. These losses were driven by investor concerns regarding potential tighter regulations on artificial intelligence data centers.
- Notable·
Update: Major semiconductor firms led the decline, with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix shares plunging between 5% and 7% on November 5, 2026. The selloff was intensified by investor concerns regarding the potential for stricter regulations governing AI data centers.