Korea halts trading as key indexes drop 10% on Middle East crisis

South Korea’s Kospi and Kosdaq tripped circuit breakers as the Middle East conflict drove a global exodus from stocks.

The Korean Stock Exchange was forced to halt trading after the escalating conflict in the Middle East prompted a major share price plunge on Wednesday.

The South Korean Kospi and Kosdaq each plunged more than 10% during morning trading in Seoul, triggering a circuit breaker as the indexes saw their worst session since August 2024, Channel News Asia reported on Wednesday.

Japan’s stock markets also saw heavy losses on Wednesday, with the Nikkei and Topix both down almost 4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 3%, and China’s Shanghai Composite had dropped 1.3%, according to Google Finance.

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