KOSPI Falls Below 6,000 Intraday ... Foreign Investors Dump 4.5 Trillion Won in a Single Day

The KOSPI lost the 6,000 level intraday for the first time in two and a half months. The decline was driven by news that Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies plans to release next-generation computer memory (DRAM) chips—products Korean firms have yet to deliver—by the end of this year. Foreign investors' net selling of 4.5 trillion won worth of shares in a single day deepened the losses.

"Chinese companies are currently under pressure to make all their announcements," said Kim Kyung-hwan, a researcher at Hana Securities, adding, "With China's Party congress coming up in late October, the developments could continue to weigh on the market."

The KOSPI pared its losses in the afternoon, holding on to the 6,000 level.