Seoul: South Korea's bourse operator On Friday, the Korea Exchange (KRX) activated a buy-side sidecar for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) as the stock index experienced a sharp rise driven by a semiconductor rally.

According to Yonhap News Agency, program trading for KOSPI-listed shares was suspended for five minutes at 12:54 p.m. This move came after the KOSPI opened 3.57 percent higher and rose by 408.4 points, or 5.6 percent, reaching 7,700.32 by 1:10 p.m.

The stock surge was attributed to the positive performance of U.S. stocks in overnight trading, which was supported by a strong rebound in semiconductor shares and a decrease in oil prices. A buy-side sidecar is specifically triggered when the KOSPI 200 Futures index experiences a rise of 5 percent or more for at least one minute.