Korean Stocks Plunge Amid US Semiconductor Sell-off

South Korea's stock market experienced a sharp downturn on the 8th, mirroring a 'Black Monday' scenario due to the ripple effect of falling U.S. semiconductor company stocks. The KOSPI opened down 112.50 points (1.38%) at 8048.09, with the 10.3% plunge in the U.S. Philadelphia Semiconductor Index significantly impacting the domestic market.

The decline is attributed to substantial drops in the stock prices of major semiconductor-related firms, including Broadcom. Concerns grew that Broadcom's performance in the artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor sector failed to meet market expectations, signaling a potential halt to the growth cycle that had been driving the AI semiconductor supercycle. This led to a rapid contraction in investor sentiment, particularly affecting large-cap domestic semiconductor stocks.

A circuit breaker was triggered on the KOSPI at 9:03:42 AM after the index fell over 8% from the previous day's close for one minute, leading to a 20-minute trading halt. The KOSDAQ also opened down 4.27% at 959.61 compared to the previous trading day, and sell-side cars were simultaneously activated in both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets. This marks the 22nd time a sidecar has been activated on the KOSPI market this year.

Under this impact, major domestic semiconductor stocks saw significant declines. During trading, Samsung Electronics' stock price fell below 300,000 won, and SK Hynix dropped below 2 million won. The KOSDAQ index opened down 42.83 points (4.27%) at 959.61 but extended its losses, plummeting to 930.96, down 71.48 points (7.13%), with the 1000-point level breached in early trading, contributing to a broader market downturn.