South Korea’s stock market opened sharply higher on Apr. 10, with strong gains at the open triggering a buy-side sidecar — a temporary trading halt aimed at curbing excessive volatility — in the main exchange.
The rally followed a sharp rebound on Wall Street after the United States announced a 90-day tariff suspension for all countries except China, boosting investor sentiment.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened at 2,395.15, jumping 101.43 points, or 4.42%, from Tuesday’s close of 2,293.70. KOSDAQ followed suit, rising 26.73 points, or 4.15%, to start the day at 670.12. Momentum remained strong after the open, and by 9:05 a.m., the KOSPI had climbed further, up about 5.5% from the previous session.
Major stocks across the board moved higher. In the main bourse, SK hynix jumped more than 13%, while Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor gained over 6%. LG Energy Solution and Kia followed with increases of around 5%. In the KOSDAQ market, shares of Alteogen, EcoPro BM, EcoPro, and Rainbow Robotics also posted strong gains of between 5% and 7%.
The surge in KOSPI 200 futures by more than 5% shortly after the market opened prompted the activation of a buy-side sidecar. Under this mechanism, when the KOSPI 200 futures price rises more than 5% from the previous session’s close and holds that level for at least one minute, program trading quotes are suspended for five minutes to help stabilize the market.
The rally on Apr. 10 followed a dramatic surge in U.S. stocks on Apr. 9 local time, after President Donald Trump announced a 90-day delay on new tariffs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 7.87%, the S&P 500 climbed 9.52%, and the Nasdaq Composite soared 12.16%.
According to financial data provider FactSet, the S&P 500’s gain was its third largest on record, trailing only the 11.58% surge on Oct. 13, 2008, and the 10.79% rise on Oct. 28, 2008. The Nasdaq posted its second-highest daily gain ever, while the Dow’s increase ranked sixth all-time.
Lee Sung-hoon, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said the rally in U.S. markets and the drop in the won against the dollar had bolstered sentiment in export-sensitive sectors such as semiconductors.
“Given that the KOSPI’s 12-month trailing price-to-book ratio had fallen to 0.79 times amid recent declines triggered by tariff-related concerns, the domestic market still holds ample room for entry from a valuation perspective,” Lee said.
Japan’s stock market also joined the rally. After falling 3.9% the previous day, the Nikkei 225 was up more than 5% as of 9:05 a.m. on Apr. 10.
