South Korea\'s KOSPI ended slightly lower on weakness in large semiconductor stocks. The benchmark fell 16.56 points, or 0.20 percent, to 8,394.65 after opening lower and briefly sliding to the 8,100 level before trimming losses. Individuals and institutions were net buyers, while foreigners were net sellers. The Kosdaq jumped 8.13 percent to 920.57, triggering a buy sidecar. The won weakened to 1,545.10 per dollar.

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.