Spot gold slipped below $4,100/oz in early trade, down 0.28% on the day.

South Korea's KOSPI fell 8.00% intraday to 7,405.11 points. SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics dropped about 10%.

Hong Kong Gold Central Clearing and Settlement System began trial operations today. Under a January cooperation agreement, the Hong Kong Treasury Bureau and the Shanghai Gold Exchange launched the first phase of “physical connectivity.” The Hong Kong gold settlement company has applied to become an international member of the Shanghai Gold Exchange and opened a physical-gold account; participants can deposit held physical gold into the Shanghai exchange international board’s Hong Kong-designated vault. Bi-directional transfers will allow firms to access the Shanghai on-exchange market and Hong Kong OTC market, enabling physical gold flows between the two systems.