KOSPI plunges 9.9% on foreign and institutional selling

KOSPI tumbled to its biggest drop on record. Profit-taking selling flooded in, led by large semiconductor stocks that had powered the market's gains, and intraday sell sidecars and circuit breaker mechanisms were triggered one after another. Market watchers said investor sentiment deteriorated sharply amid weakness in U.S. tech stocks, concerns over the profitability of artificial intelligence, and South Korea's failure to be included on the MSCI Developed Markets Index watchlist, which increased pressure to lock in gains.
According to Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 23rd, KOSPI closed at 8,203.84, down 910.71 points, or 9.99%, from the previous session. It marked the largest point drop ever and the fifth-steepest decline by percentage. Volatility controls were also triggered repeatedly during the session. KRX activated a sell sidecar for the KOSDAQ market at 11:37 a.m. and for the Korea Exchange Main Board at 11:40 a.m. At 2:33 p.m., a first-stage circuit breaker mechanism was also triggered on the Korea Exchange Main Board. It was the fourth time this year. Foreign investors and institutions led the decline with heavy selling. Institutions in particular sold 4.549 trillion won worth of shares, exceeding the 4.1576 trillion won in net selling by foreigners. Retail investors absorbed the supply with 8.5795 trillion won in net buying, but that was not enough to prevent the sharp fall.
The losses were especially steep among large semiconductor stocks that had driven the market higher. SK hynix, which had risen for eight consecutive trading days and briefly traded above 2.9 million won, closed down 12.47% at 2.555 million won. Samsung Electronics fell 12.31% to 310,000 won, while Samsung Electro-Mechanics ended 10.68% lower at 1.99 million won. Market analysts said weakness in U.S. tech stocks the previous day weighed on domestic investor sentiment. Experts also said doubts about investment returns resurfaced as AI companies raised large amounts of capital.
[email protected] Bae Hangeul, Lim Sang-hyeok