The domestic stock market experienced a 'Black Tuesday' as U.S. tech stocks plummeted. The KOSPI index fell by over 10%, while the KOSDAQ dropped more than 7% at the close of trading. Both markets activated sell-side circuit breakers and circuit breakers in response to the rapid decline, with foreign investors leading a sell-off, particularly in the semiconductor sector, causing a sharp drop in investor sentiment.
According to the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI closed at 6023.66, down 732.09 points (10.84%) from the previous trading day. This decline marked the second-largest drop of the year, following a 12.06% decrease on March 4. The index opened at 6400.27, down 355.48 points (5.26%), and quickly widened its losses throughout the session.
In response to the steep decline, market safety mechanisms were activated. Both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets triggered sell-side circuit breakers and a first-stage circuit breaker.
Foreign investors sold a net 4.9842 trillion won in the KOSPI market. In contrast, individual and institutional investors bought a net 4.318 trillion won and 637.6 billion won, respectively, as they sought to capitalize on lower prices during the downturn.
Most of the top stocks by market capitalization in the KOSPI showed weakness. Samsung Electronics fell 13.39%, SK Hynix dropped 14.65%, SK Square decreased 15.60%, Samsung Electro-Mechanics fell 15.92%, Hyundai Motor declined 9.68%, LG Energy Solution dropped 5.71%, KB Financial fell 4.29%, and Samsung Life Insurance decreased 8.51%. However, Samsung Biologics rose 0.26%.
The KOSDAQ index closed at 705.85, down 59.01 points (7.72%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 742.13, down 22.73 points (2.97%), and at one point during the session, it fell by more than 8%.
In the KOSDAQ market, individual and foreign investors bought a net 51.6 billion won and 82.8 billion won, respectively, while institutions sold a net 134.6 billion won.
Most of the top stocks by market capitalization in the KOSDAQ also experienced declines. Alteogen fell 4.97%, EcoPro BM dropped 7.87%, EcoPro decreased 9.80%, Rainbow Robotics fell 10.20%, JUSUNG Engineering dropped 14.08%, Rino Technology fell 11.75%, Wonik IPS decreased 15.57%, HLB dropped 3.34%, and ABL Bio fell 5.23%. Conversely, Epam Research rose 1.49%.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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