KOSPI Plunges to 3,852 as SK Hynix Tumbles Nearly 10%

(Seoul=Yonhap Infomax) Young Tae Seo – South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index opened sharply lower on Thursday, dropping around 4% amid a global risk-off sentiment following overnight declines on Wall Street. Investor confidence weakened as renewed concerns over an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble weighed on major tech stocks, with Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. leading the downturn.

As of 09:11 KST on the 21st, the KOSPI had fallen 151.98 points, or 3.79%, to 3,852.87, according to Yonhap Infomax's Shin Stock Composite (screen number 3536). The tech-heavy KOSDAQ index was also down 27.88 points, or 3.13%, at 864.06.

Overnight in the United States, all three major indices retreated: the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.84%, the S&P 500 fell 1.56%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.15%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 4.77%.

U.S. equities initially rose on strong earnings from Nvidia Corp., but reversed course as skepticism over the sustainability of the AI rally and concerns about a broader "everything rally" emerged.

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook commented, "Our assessment is that asset valuations across several markets—including equities, corporate bonds, leveraged loans, and housing—are elevated compared to historical benchmarks." She added, "Currently, my impression is that the likelihood of a significant decline in asset prices has increased."

Among major KOSPI-listed stocks, Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea's largest company by market capitalization, was down more than 4%. SK Hynix Inc., a leading memory chipmaker, plunged nearly 10%. Other key stocks that had previously driven the KOSPI rally, such as Doosan Enerbility Co., Hanwha Aerospace Co., and HD Hyundai Electric Co., also slumped more than 5%.

ytseo@yna.co.kr

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