Finance

‘Black Tuesday’ as KOSPI plunges more than 8 percent, circuit breaker triggered

South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI fell more than 8 percent from the previous close on Tuesday, prompting a temporary halt in trading on the main stock market. The Korea Exchange said the index stood at 8,378.25 at 2:33:43 p.m., down 736.30 points, or 8.07 percent, from Monday’s close of 9,114.55. A level-one circuit breaker was triggered after the drop persisted for one minute, suspending trading for 20 minutes.

Industry

Qualcomm nears $4 billion deal to buy AI chip startup Modular

Qualcomm is in talks to acquire AI chip startup Modular for about $4 billion, Reuters reported on June 22, citing Bloomberg. If completed, the deal would value Modular at about 2.5 times its $1.6 billion valuation from a funding round nine months earlier. Bloomberg said an announcement could come within weeks, though talks could fall apart or terms may change. Qualcomm and Modular declined to comment.