emirates7 - The Republic of Korea's bourse operator on Monday activated a circuit breaker for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) as the index nosedived by more than 8 percent due to a slump in tech heavyweights, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Trading of KOSPI-listed stocks was halted for 20 minutes. The Korea Exchange issued the measure shortly after the stock market opening, after the KOSPI crashed more than 8 percent.

The index declined 8.41 percent from the previous session to an intraday low of 7,474.15 in early trading.