Samsung Electronics, SK hynix "Plunge" 8%, 10%... KOSPI Falls Below 6,000

KOSPI "Lurches" More Than 6% Lower Intraday
Foreign Selling Triggers Sell-Sidecar
Market in Short-Term Bottom-Testing Phase

The KOSPI plunged more than 6%, falling below the 6,000 mark intraday. As the index tumbled, a sell-sidecar (temporary suspension of quotes) was triggered for the first time in about two months, while foreign investors continued selling for a sixth consecutive trading day.

Employees work in the dealing room at Hana Bank's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 13th, as the KOSPI extended its decline for a fifth consecutive trading day. The index plunged more than 5% at one point during the session, triggering a sell-sidecar for the first time in 55 days, since August 19. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

On October 13, the KOSPI opened down 198.16 points (3.10%) from the previous session at 6,186.08. As of 1:30 p.m., it was trading at 5,961.86, down 6.62%. The market plunge triggered a sell-sidecar at 9:47:58 a.m. A sidecar was last triggered in the KOSPI market on August 20, while a sell-sidecar was last triggered on August 19.

After international oil prices rose overnight and selling in memory semiconductor stocks continued, the three major U.S. stock indexes ended mixed. On October 12 (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 195.60 points (0.38%) from the previous session to close at 51,850.55. The S&P 500 fell 4.30 points (0.06%) to 7,807.24, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 120.27 points (0.44%) to 27,245.90. Memory semiconductor stocks were particularly weak. News that China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) had advanced its DRAM technology and would introduce next-generation server products later this year weighed on the market.

Individual investors and institutions were net buyers of 2.1195 trillion won and 1.0817 trillion won, respectively. Foreign investors were net sellers of 3.6722 trillion won. Their selling continued for a sixth consecutive trading day through October 13. As of the previous day, foreign investors had net sold about 199 trillion won in the KOSPI market this year. Their selling, which had briefly eased in July and August, picked up again in September, reaching 21.5 trillion won.

By sector, electrical and electronics fell 8.48%, manufacturing declined 7.41%, machinery and equipment dropped 5.09%, financials lost 4.90%, and retail fell 4.11%. Among the largest stocks by market capitalization, Samsung Electronics fell 8.18%, SK hynix dropped 10.78%, Samsung Electronics preferred shares declined 7.12%, SK Square fell 12.60%, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics lost 8.88%.

As of 1:30 p.m., the KOSDAQ was trading at 821.47, down 3.26%. Individual investors and institutions were net sellers of 172 billion won and 17.6 billion won, respectively, while foreign investors were net buyers of 191.3 billion won. By sector, non-metallic minerals fell 5.32%, general services declined 4.64%, electrical and electronics dropped 4.54%, retail fell 4.19%, and pharmaceuticals lost 3.81%. Among the largest stocks by market capitalization, Alteogen fell 5.18%, EcoPro declined 2.58%, EcoPro BM dropped 6.06%, and Rainbow Robotics fell 4.22%, while Jusung Engineering rose 0.59%.

"The market is plunging amid risks that are already known," said Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities. "Investor sentiment has weakened and trading has dried up, apparently reducing the market's price resistance to selling." She added, "It is worth remembering that the index's fall below its 200-day moving average was a level it only briefly reached for a few trading days during the market plunge last July. We are in a phase of identifying a short-term bottom, and joining the panic selling at current levels below 6,000 could leave investors exposed to greater upside risk."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.