South Korea's bourse operator on Wednesday activated a buy-side sidecar for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index as the stock index rose sharply.
Program trading for the KOSPI-listed shares was suspended for five minutes at 9:53 a.m., according to the Korea Exchange.
After opening 2.23 percent higher, the KOSPI added 255.92 points, or 4.54 percent, to 5,894.26 as of 9:55 a.m.
The index rallied as strong artificial intelligence-driven semiconductor earnings lifted investor sentiment ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.
Before the opening bell, SK hynix Inc. reported record-high revenue and operating profit for the third quarter, driven by robust memory chip demand, and announced a shareholder return program worth more than 100 trillion won ($75.3 billion) for 2026.
A buy-side sidecar is triggered when the KOSPI 200 Futures Index rises 5 percent or more for at least one minute. (Yonhap)
