Kospi Index Plunges Nearly 9%, Triggers 20-Minute Halt
The kospi index fell nearly 9% within minutes of Monday’s opening, forcing South Korea’s market to stop trading for 20 minutes. The circuit breaker was triggered for the third time this year, and the index later traded about 5% lower. For investors in South Korean tech shares, the session turned a sharp selloff into a brief shutdown before prices reopened lower.
Samsung and SK Hynix Lead
Samsung and SK Hynix fell sharply as the tech-heavy benchmark absorbed the first wave of selling. The index had already posted huge gains in recent months on investment in South Korea’s tech companies, so Monday’s move cut into a market that had been carrying a lot of optimism into the session.
20 minutes was the length of the halt, and it was designed to prevent panic trading. Trading resumed, but the kospi index stayed under pressure at about 5% below where it had been before the halt, leaving holders of the country’s biggest chip and electronics names with another volatile session to absorb.
Lee Jae-myung on volatility
Lee Jae-myung said on Monday that the stock market is expected to experience volatility and that domestic shares are still “slightly undervalued.” His remarks landed while the selloff was unfolding, giving local traders a reminder that policy support and market weakness are moving at the same time.
Charu Chanana called the shocks a “messy mix,” said investors were in “repositioning,” and added that they want “real revenue” before giving artificial intelligence-linked names more credit. “The burden of proof has gone up,” she said, a blunt summary of the pressure now facing the region’s tech trade after months of gains.
Oil and Wall Street Pressure
3.7% was the jump in Brent to $96.50 a barrel in Asia on Monday, while US-traded crude rose 3.5% to $93.70 after strikes were exchanged between Iran and Israel. Those moves helped extend the selloff across Asia, with the Hang Seng Index and the Shanghai Composite also down on Monday after Friday’s sharp drop on Wall Street.
About 4% was the Nasdaq’s fall on Friday, its biggest decline in over a year, and that slump fed directly into Monday’s trading in Seoul. For traders, the combination of a weaker Nasdaq, higher oil and a fast drop in the kospi index means South Korean tech shares are now being priced with less room for error than they had just days ago.
