KRX activates buy-side sidecar as KOSDAQ index surges

South Korea's bourse operator activated a buy-side sidecar for the secondary KOSDAQ market on Friday, October 16, 2026, as the stock index surged. Program trading in KOSDAQ-listed shares was suspended for five minutes at 12:55 p.m. The previous day, the KOSDAQ market saw a sell-side sidecar and a circuit breaker triggered in succession during trading, with the index plunging more than 7 percent to close sharply lower. However, the index rebounded 5.27 percent to 800.90 as of Friday afternoon, reclaiming the 800-point level just a day later. A buy-side sidecar is triggered when KOSDAQ 150 futures rise at least 6 percent from the benchmark price and the KOSDAQ 150 index gains at least 3 percent from its previous trading day's closing level, with both conditions sustained for one minute.