The South Korean stock market experienced a sharp decline, primarily driven by heavy selling in semiconductor stocks. The KOSPI index fell below the 7,000 mark due to simultaneous net selling by foreign and institutional investors, leading to a significant drop in investor sentiment.
On July 13, the KOSPI closed at 6,806.93, down 669.01 points (8.95%) from the previous trading day. A sell-side circuit breaker was triggered at 10:34 a.m., followed by a trading halt for 20 minutes at 1:28 p.m. due to a circuit breaker activation.
In the securities market, individual investors made net purchases of 3.88 trillion won, taking advantage of lower prices. However, foreign and institutional investors led the decline with net sales of 1.72 trillion won and 2.20 trillion won, respectively.
Among the top market capitalization stocks, semiconductor companies were notably affected. Samsung Electronics fell 10.35%, SK Hynix dropped 15.18%, SK Square decreased by 17.67%, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics declined by 18.37%. Other notable declines included Hyundai Motor (-3.50%), Samsung Life Insurance (-4.55%), and Samsung Biologics (-0.36%). Conversely, LG Energy Solution rose by 0.46%, and KB Financial increased by 1.30%.
The KOSDAQ index also fell below 800, closing at 799.36, down 38.07 points (-4.55%). While institutions and individuals made net purchases of 212.1 billion won and 173.1 billion won, respectively, foreign investors sold off 386.8 billion won.
Most of the top KOSDAQ stocks showed weakness, with declines including Alteogen (-2.62%), EcoPro BM (-2.14%), EcoPro (-3.50%), JUSUNG Engineering (-4.90%), Rainbow Robotics (-9.04%), Kolon TissueGene (-14.89%), Wonik IPS (-0.16%), Rino Technology (-1.49%), PSK (-2.53%), and IOTech (-4.62%).
Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, noted, "The domestic stock market is structurally limited as the semiconductor sector accounts for nearly 60% of the KOSPI. When semiconductors falter, the entire index tends to follow suit. Additionally, the complexities related to leveraged products are contributing to increased volatility."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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