The KOSPI has fallen below the 5,000 mark as a "blue wave," with Democrats taking control of both chambers of the U.S. Congress, sent shockwaves through South Korea's stock market. A Level 1 circuit breaker was also triggered early in the session.
As of 9:24 a.m. Friday, the benchmark index stood at 4,923.47, down 460.33 points, or 8.55 percent, from the previous session.
The KOSPI last traded below 5,000 during intraday trading on Feb. 6, 273 days ago.
A Level 1 circuit breaker was triggered at 9:03 a.m., halting trading for 20 minutes. Single-price auction trading then began at 9:23 a.m. for 10 minutes.
Concerns that the US Democratic Party would strengthen regulations on AI data centers and that data center construction would be delayed have engulfed global stock markets. On Thursday (local time), the NASDAQ Composite Index fell by 5.52%. The S&P 500 Index dropped by 4.36%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 3.44%.
NVIDIA fell by 9.2%, and Broadcom dropped by 10.6%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index slid more than 12% on that day.
Han Ji-young, a research analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said, "The domestic stock market today opened lower following the 12th% plunge in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index due to concerns over reduced AI investment stemming from data center regulations, and the weakness of over 7% in KOSPI 200 night futures. It is expected to show a trend of expanding volatility even during intraday trading."
She added, "Currently, the market is in a phase where traditional fundamentals logic, such as earnings and valuation, is not being reflected in stock prices."
In the KOSPI market on this day, foreign investors and retail investors are net sellers of 36.8 billion won and 134.9 billion won, respectively. Institutional investors are net buyers of 142.2 billion won.
All KOSPI sectors are declining. Electrical and electronics are plunging in the 10% range, manufacturing is falling in the 9% range, and medical and precision instruments are dropping in the 8% range. Machinery and equipment, securities, and finance are down more than 7%.
All top 20 stocks by KOSPI market capitalization are declining. Samsung Electro-Mechanics is plunging by more than 14%. SK hynix and SK Square are falling in the 11th% and 13% ranges, respectively. Samsung Electronics is down by more than 9%.
The KOSDAQ is showing 632.56, down 45.85 points (6.75%) from the previous trading day. A sidecar (futures market circuit breaker) was triggered early in trading.
In the KOSDAQ market, retail investors are net sellers of 112.8 billion won. Foreign investors and institutional investors are net buyers of 110.1 billion won and 2 billion won, respectively.
Among KOSDAQ sectors, all sectors except publishing and media, which is rising in the 4% range, are declining. Machinery and equipment, electrical and electronics, medical and precision instruments, and others are sliding by more than 8%.
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