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Sell-side sidecar activated on Kospi after index futures post steep fall

Published: 02 Feb. 2026, 14:20

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi and Kodsdaq indexes on Feb. 2. The Korea Exchange triggered a sell-side sidecar on the Kospi after a steep fall in the Kospi 200 futures index. [YONHAP]

Korea’s stock exchange triggered a sell-side circuit breaker on the Kospi on Monday after a steep fall in index futures, as risk appetite weakened following U.S. President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair.

The Korea Exchange said it activated the circuit breaker, known as a sidecar, at 12:31 p.m.

The measure kicked in after the Kospi 200 futures index fell more than 5 percent for at least one minute. At the time of the trigger, the index stood at 731.30 points, down 40.2 points, or 5.21 percent, from the previous session’s close.

The benchmark Kospi index extended its losses during the session and was down more than 4 percent.

The sidecar halted the effectiveness of program sell orders in the main board market for five minutes when linked to falling Kospi 200 futures prices.

Market participants said Trump’s decision to nominate Warsh, who is often viewed as hawkish on monetary policy, increased uncertainty over the future path of U.S. interest rates and added to market volatility.

It marked the first time a sell-side sidecar had been triggered in the Kospi market since Nov. 5 last year, when the index slumped amid concerns over a potential artificial intelligence bubble.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]