KOSPI Plunges 17% This Month... Worst Among Major Markets
The KOSPI recorded the steepest plunge among major global markets this month. The broader market has been sluggish, with 7 out of 10 domestically listed stocks falling. According to an analysis of Korea Exchange data by Yonhap News, the KOSPI dropped 17.11% between the 1st and 16th of this month, posting the largest decline among major national stock indexes (indicators reflecting the trends of each country's stock market).
The rankings highlight the weakness of the Korean market. Indonesia's IDX Composite fell 14.59% to post the second-largest decline, followed by China's Shenzhen Composite (-7.40%) and the KOSDAQ (-7.14%). In contrast, Brazil's Bovespa index rose 10.24% to top the rankings, followed by Russia's RTS (7.17%), Switzerland's SMI (4.06%), and India's Sensex (3.10%).
Regional trends diverged. While emerging-market indexes such as those of Brazil, Russia, and India ranked near the top, markets with heavy semiconductor exposure — including Korea's KOSPI, Taiwan's Weighted Index (-1.73%), and Japan's Nikkei 225 (-2.14%) — were broadly weak.
The KOSPI surged 30.61% in April this year, but its upward momentum subsequently slowed, gaining just 3.40% in August and 0.26% in September. It also lost its title as the year's top cumulative performer. As of the 16th, the KOSPI's year-to-date return stood at 34.50%, well behind Taiwan's Weighted Index at 62.66%, and it was also overtaken by Poland's WIG index (36.66%).
Amid an AI-driven correction sweeping the semiconductor-heavy market, bonds of CoreWeave, an AI neocloud company, plunged sharply, raising concerns about the credit risk of data center builders, while AI firm Anthropic saw its third-quarter revenue growth slow from the previous quarter. Foreign investors have net sold a total of 18.1308 trillion won in the main bourse over eight consecutive trading sessions since the 2nd.
This month, 652 KOSPI-listed and 1,247 KOSDAQ-listed stocks declined, with 1,120 stocks (40.58%) falling 5% or more. Stocks that dropped 10% or more numbered 588 (21.30%), while 127 (4.60%) fell 20% or more.
