South korea: South Korea's bourse operator activated a sell-side sidecar for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) as the index experienced a decline due to heavy selling in semiconductor shares.

According to Yonhap News Agency, program trading for the KOSPI-listed shares was suspended for five minutes shortly after the market opened. This measure was taken as the index opened 4.46 percent lower and subsequently fell 446.8 points, or 5.34 percent, to 7,856.61 by 9:08 a.m.

The benchmark index faced downward pressure as investors sold off semiconductor stocks, mirroring an overnight selloff in U.S. technology shares. The sell-side sidecar mechanism is triggered when the KOSPI 200 Futures index experiences a drop of 5 percent or more for at least one minute.