Bourse operator issues circuit breaker for KOSPI on sharp fall

South Korea's bourse operator on Friday activated a circuit breaker for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index as stocks crashed due to a slump in tech heavyweights.

Trading of KOSPI-listed shares was halted for 20 minutes.

The Korea Exchange triggered the measure at around 12:10 p.m. after the KOSPI plummeted more than 8 percent from the previous session's close.

The benchmark index came under heavy selling pressure as investors dumped large-cap technology stocks on profit-taking.

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