Trading on South Korea’s tech-heavy Kosdaq suspended after stocks slide

SEOUL: South Korea’s Kosdaq index of mainly small-cap technology stocks slumped, triggering the first trading suspension in more than three years, as investors sold on rising trade tensions with Japan.

The gauge, comprising 1, 336 stocks of the nation’s small- and medium-sized companies, slid more than 5% before the Korea Exchange halted programme trading for five minutes. The index recently dropped 7.1%. The index has slipped nearly 15% this year, the worst-performing index in Asian major markets.