Kospi slides 8% on US chip sell-off

The South Korean benchmark Kospi plunged more than 8 percent Monday, mirroring a rout in US semiconductor stocks on Wall Street, which triggered a circuit breaker.

The Kospi opened 1.38 percent lower at 8,048.09.

Soon after the opening bell, selling accelerated, pushing the index below the 8,000 mark.

It stood at 7,477.46, down 8.37 percent, as of 9:12 a.m.

A circuit breaker was triggered, halting program trading for 20 minutes after the benchmark index plunged more than 8 percent.

Foreign inves ...