Kospi surges over 4%, triggering buy-side sidecar

A sidecar was triggered on the Korea Exchange's main board Tuesday morning after the Kospi surged more than 4% in early trading.

Korea Exchange said the sidecar was activated at 9:12:52 a.m. At that moment, the Kospi stood at 7,793.87, up 309.46 points, or 4.13 percent, from the previous session.

The Kosdaq rose 33.23 points, or 3.65 percent, to 944.62 at the same time, while the Kosdaq 150 index gained 62.85 points, or 3.96 percent, to 1,649.18. KOSPI 200 futures stood at 1,239.05.

A sidecar is a market stabilization mechanism that temporarily suspends program trading orders when futures prices spike or plunge sharply. The early rebound was attributed to a wave of buying that rushed in after Monday's steep selloff.