Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix Shares Plunge; Nasdaq ETF Posts 53% Gain

South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index plunged nearly 9% intraday, triggering a 'circuit breaker' that halted trading for 20 minutes. By market close, the KOSPI had fallen 5.81% from the previous day to 8411.21 points, with market capitalization evaporating by over 425 trillion won in a single day. This reflects a significant contraction in investor sentiment amidst rapidly changing global economic conditions.

Foreign investors led the market decline, selling a net 4.6522 trillion won worth of shares. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix account for 58.1% of the KOSPI's market capitalization. The concentration of demand for leveraged ETFs, passive funds, and derivatives in such a concentrated stock group amplified the sharp decline in response to external shocks.

DRAM and NAND prices have surged approximately fourfold over the past year. Apple and Microsoft (MS) have raised prices on key products like MacBooks and Xboxes by up to 25%, citing memory supply shortages. Dell and Lenovo have also joined the price increase trend.

Timefolio's 'TIME Nasdaq100 Active' ETF recorded a three-month return of 53.72%, more than double the return of passive ETFs. Korean retail investors (Seohakgemi) net purchased $1.87275 billion worth of shares after SpaceX's IPO. SpaceX's stock price has fallen over 32% from its intraday high compared to its IPO price of $135.

President Lee Jae-myung ordered a thorough review of the economic situation.