Markets Turn Pale as Nasdaq Plunges; KOSPI Briefly Down 4% [fn Morning Market Update]
- Input
- 2026-10-23 09:43:25
- Updated
- 2026-10-23 09:43:25
[Financial News] With the Nasdaq plunging overnight, South Korea’s stock market fell as low as the 5,300-point level.
As of 9:30 a.m. on the 23rd, the KOSPI was trading at 5,355.58, down 177.58 points (3.21%) from the previous trading day. After opening at 5,403.17, down 2.36% from the previous session, the KOSPI briefly rose to 5,433.77 intraday before falling as low as 5,305.98 (-4.12%).
By investor group, institutions were net buyers of 291.6 billion won, while individual and foreign investors were net sellers of 34.4 billion won and 268.4 billion won, respectively.
Among the largest stocks by market capitalization, Samsung Electro-Mechanics (-6.99%), Samsung Electronics (-4.20%), SK hynix (-3.03%), SK Square (-2.00%), Hyundai Motor (-3.65%), LG Energy Solution (-2.95%) and Samsung Life Insurance (-2.69%) were down. By contrast, Samsung E&A (5.60%) and Samsung Biologics (3.16%) were among those rising.
The KOSDAQ was trading at 735.98, down 28.12 points (3.68%) from the previous trading day. After opening at 748.32, down 2.07% from the previous session, the KOSDAQ briefly rose to 749.19 intraday but also fell as low as 737.53.
Most of the largest stocks by market capitalization were lower, including Wonik IPS (-6.42%), LEENO Industrial (-6.23%), Rainbow Robotics (-5.21%), EO Technics (-5.00%), EcoPro BM (-6.01%), Jusung Engineering (-7.47%), EcoPro (-5.31%) and Alteogen (-1.84%).
By investor group, institutions were net sellers of 13.6 billion won, while individual and foreign investors were net buyers of 1.7 billion won and 14.7 billion won, respectively.
New York stocks closed mixed overnight, with the three major indexes posting mixed results amid weakness in AI and semiconductor stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.02%, posting a slight gain. By contrast, the S&P 500 fell 1.21% from the previous session, while the NASDAQ Composite Index dropped 2.60%. The NASDAQ index recorded its biggest decline since June.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 6.72%. Micron (-6.26%), Nvidia (-4.40%) and Intel (-8.04%) all fell sharply. Other memory-related stocks, including SK hynix American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) (-8.07%) and SanDisk (-8.51%), also dropped sharply.
[email protected] Joo Won-gyu Reporter