SEOUL, July 31 (Xinhua) -- South Korean stocks on Friday staged a dramatic rebound amid a big tech rally, triggering buy-side sidecars to suspend program trading.
The benchmark KOSPI jumped 902.68 points, or 16.14 percent, to trade at 6,496.24 at 10:01 a.m. local time, while the smaller KOSDAQ spiked 58.21 points, or 9.03 percent, to 702.99.
The explosive morning rally activated buy-side sidecars for both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ shortly after the opening bell, leading to a temporary halt in program trading to cool down the overheated buying frenzy.
The massive surge came as foreigners went on bargain hunting following a brutal multi-day sell-off, which triggered circuit breakers for two straight days on Tuesday and Wednesday to suspend stock trading.
Retail investors dumped stocks amid lingering fears that the rebound could be temporary.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics and memory chip giant SK hynix surged 24.64 percent and 27.61 percent, respectively.
The country's top automaker Hyundai Motor soared 9.97 percent, and the leading aerospace and defense company Hanwha Aerospace advanced 3.70 percent. ■
