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South Korea Stock Boom: Why Kospi Is World’s Most Volatile Benchmark Stock Index

Bloomberg Markets Monday 20 July 2026, 10:54 UTC By Abhishek Vishnoi and Sangmi Cha 1 min read
Key Points

Explainer Why South Korea’s Stock Index Is More Volatile Than Bitcoin Investing in South Korea’s stock market has yielded huge returns this year, but it’s been a wild ride. Volatility on the benchmark Kospi Index has topped 60%, almost double that of Japan’s Nikkei 225. It’s even put the notoriously skittish cryptocurrency Bitcoin in the shade.

Explainer Why South Korea’s Stock Index Is More Volatile Than Bitcoin Investing in South Korea’s stock market has yielded huge returns this year, but it’s been a wild ride. Volatility on the benchmark Kospi Index has topped 60%, almost double that of Japan’s Nikkei 225. It’s even put the notoriously skittish cryptocurrency Bitcoin in the shade. The gyrations have forced the Korea Exchange to trigger its “circuit breaker” mechanism, which puts a temporary halt on trading to prevent flash crashes and avoid investor panic, seven times this year through mid-July. There was no such halt in 2025 and just one in 2024.
South Korea Stock Boom (ORG) Kospi (PERSON) South Korea’s (LOCATION) Japan (LOCATION) the Korea Exchange (ORG)
Originally published by Bloomberg Markets Read original →

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