Kospi triggers circuit breaker after plunging more than 8%

South Korean stocks triggered a marketwide circuit breaker on Friday after the Kospi plunged more than 8 percent in intraday trading, capping a volatile week marked by sharp swings in chip-heavy shares.

The Korea Exchange suspended trading on the Kospi market for 20 minutes from 12:10 p.m. after the benchmark index remained more than 8 percent below the previous session's close for one minute, meeting the conditions for a circuit breaker.

Trading in all Kospi-listed shares, as well as stock inde ...