Circuit breaker, Korean stocks plunge again! A-shares open lower, over 4,600 stocks adjust

Asia-Pacific markets collectively plummet.

On March 9, Asia-Pacific stock markets all declined sharply. South Korea’s market triggered a circuit breaker again, the Nikkei 225 index dropped over 7%, plunging more than 4,000 points. The Manila Index in the Philippines fell over 5%, while Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index, Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh Index, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index each declined over 4%.

In China, the FTSE China A50 Index futures briefly fell nearly 3% during trading, now narrowing to within 2%. The three major A-share indices all opened lower, with the Shenzhen Component Index and the ChiNext Index initially dropping over 3%, and the STAR Market Composite Index falling over 4%.

A-shares decline during trading

Today (March 9), the three major A-share indices all opened lower. As of the time of writing, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.32%, the Shenzhen Component Index dropped 2.72%, the ChiNext Index declined 3.05%, the STAR Market Index decreased 3.92%, and the CSI 300 Index fell 3.5%. Over 4,600 stocks in the market declined.

In terms of sectors, telecommunications, electronics, comprehensive, and non-ferrous metals led the declines. The agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery sector rose against the trend during trading, becoming one of the main highlights of the morning market, with an intraday increase of over 2%.

Additionally, oil and gas stocks surged significantly, with Blue Flame Holdings, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (600938), and Shandong Meroon (002490) hitting the daily limit up.

In the Hong Kong market, major indices also declined. As of the time of writing, the Hang Seng Index fell below 25,000 points, down more than 3%. The Hang Seng Tech Index once dropped over 3%, now narrowing to 2.67%.

Oil and gas stocks in Hong Kong also performed strongly at the open, with Shandong Meroon rising over 90% intraday, and Sinopec Oilfield Service (600871) up over 30%.

Japan and South Korea markets suffer heavy losses; Korea triggers circuit breaker again

Asia-Pacific stock markets fell sharply in early trading.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index plunged over 7% during the session, hitting a new low since the recent Middle East geopolitical conflict impact.

South Korea’s stock market also declined sharply, with the KOSPI index falling more than 8% intraday and triggering a circuit breaker. Since the escalation of the Middle East conflict, South Korea’s stock market has triggered the circuit breaker multiple times, with a total retreat of nearly 20%.

Affected by soaring international oil prices, the Korean won against the US dollar opened lower on the 9th. Amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East, international oil prices broke through $100 per barrel, increasing market risk aversion and causing the Korean won to depreciate significantly.