SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's bourse operator on Wednesday activated a sell-side sidecar for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) as the stock index fell sharp

Program trading for the KOSPI-listed shares was suspended for five minutes at 09:06 a.m., according to the Korea Exchange (KRX).

After opening 4.96 percent lower, the KOSPI lost 384.82 points, or 5.6 percent, to 6,485.01 as of 09:07 a.m.

Investors sold off semiconductor shares, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street as stalled U.S.-Iran peace talks pushed up oil prices and bond yields.

A sell-side sidecar is triggered when the KOSPI 200 Futures Index falls 5 percent or more for at least one minute.

ejkim@yna.co.kr

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