"Constitution Day Saved the KOSPI" ... After the U.S. Semiconductor Rout, "Please Make Monday a Temporary Holiday Too"

[Financial News]  "Constitution Day saved the KOSPI," and "Constitution Day is fundamental. It protected the country." Stock discussion boards on online communities were buzzing on the 17th, even though the market was closed for Constitution Day. Users said the domestic market had escaped a day of shock because U.S. semiconductor stocks had plunged overnight.
On the 16th in New York, SK hynix American Depositary Receipt (ADR) shares fell 13.69%. NVIDIA and Alphabet Inc. also dropped 2.40% and 4.4%, respectively, while memory-related stocks such as Micron (-5.65%), SanDisk Corporation (-12.63%), Seagate Technology (-10.00%), and WDC (-9.15%) all weakened.
The sharp decline in U.S. semiconductor stocks hit Asian markets hard. Japan and Taiwan both saw steep losses on the day.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 4.03% in a single day, and at one point during trading it dropped more than 6%, marking the fifth-largest decline on record.
Kioxia Holdings Corporation, a semiconductor company, plunged 16.1% from the previous session, falling to 52,110 yen, about half of its all-time high set last month. The drop was seen as the result of the U.S. semiconductor selloff, compounded by a U.S. court ruling on patent infringement damages. Tokyo Electron (-8.17%) and Advantest Corporation (-7.2%) also posted steep losses.
Taiwan also came under pressure as selling spread across semiconductor stocks, even though TSMC had reported second-quarter earnings that beat market expectations. Semiconductor-related shares such as TSMC (-7.29%) and MediaTek (-8.92%) fell sharply together, dragging the Taiwan Weighted Index down 6.47%. That was its lowest level in about two months.
By contrast, South Korea was able to avoid the impact of the U.S.-led shock thanks to the holiday. On online communities and social networking service platforms that day, posts mixing relief and self-mockery poured in, with comments such as "Constitution Day saved the KOSPI" and "Constitution Day rescued us from the drop." 
Some also voiced gloomy predictions that the shock would hit in full once the market opened on Monday.  Comments such as "Constitution Day held up today, but won't it all be reflected on Monday anyway?", "The holiday only delayed the fear by a day," "Let's make Monday a temporary holiday too," and "Let's open the market when Nasdaq futures hit 30,000" reflected growing anxiety.
At least one remark from SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won offered some comfort to investors.
At the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry summer forum, Chey said, "Memory will always be needed, so over time it trends upward," adding, "I don't know what the stock price will do next month, but holding on instead of constantly buying and selling is a good way to preserve wealth."
He went on to say, "AI is still a four-year-old child, but it will continue to need memory as it grows into adulthood," and predicted that "demand will inevitably increase exponentially going forward."
y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter