South Korea Stocks Resume Plunge After Circuit-Breaker Halt

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea stocks resumed their declines after key gauges fell more than 8%, triggering circuit breakers for the second time in a week.

The Kospi dropped 8.6% to its lowest level since 2009, and the tech-heavy Kosdaq lost 9.1% to its lowest since 2011 after the suspension was lifted at 12:25 p.m. in Seoul. Trading can be suspended again if the indexes drop more than 15%, and the market will shut down for the day if they fall 20%, the nation’s exchange said.

Foreign investors sold some $317 million net of Kospi shares Thursday, taking the sell-off into a 11th straight day. They’ve already pulled almost $11 billion net from the nation’s equity funds this year, some of the biggest withdrawals in the region, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Efforts by Korean regulators to contain the damage -- including a short-selling ban and eased buyback rules -- have done little to assuage investors worried about the repercussions of the coronavirus.

Samsung Electronics Co., the nation’s biggest stock by market value, lost as much as 7.2% on Thursday and is heading for its lowest close since August, while peer SK Hynix Inc. dropped as much as 10% on rising concerns over global demand for memory chips. Energy, material and industrial stocks fell the most on the MSCI Korea Index, down more than 10%, as the plunge in oil prices hit Korean refiners and commodity-related companies including shipbuilders and chemical producers.

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