On the 8th, the KOSPI started lower. After U.S. stocks closed down led by tech the previous day, selling is emerging in Korea's market centered on electric and electronics. Investor sentiment appears to have weakened as doubts grow about a semiconductor supercycle.
The KOSPI index opened at 7,452.48, down 203.83 points (2.66%) from the previous transaction day. Early in the session, the index even slipped to the 7,350 level. Although foreigners and the National Pension Service are net buyers today, the buying does not appear aggressive. Individuals are net sellers.
Most of the top market-cap stocks are falling. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are each down around 3%, and SK Square and Samsung Electro-Mechanics, which had surged, are also down a sharp 7%–8%.
Retail stocks, which had jumped on expectations of a domestic demand recovery, are also falling sharply. Lotte Shopping is down more than 10%, and Shinsegae and Hyundai Department Store are also declining.
Tech stocks are weak across global markets, including Korea. Concerns about a semiconductor "peak-out (peak)" have grown after Samsung Electronics released earnings the previous day. The U.S. Nasdaq fell 1.16% overnight, with weakness particularly notable in semiconductor names such as Micron and SanDisk. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index also fell more than 4%.
Tensions between the United States and Iran, which had been quiet for a while, have resurfaced. A Qatari vessel was struck in the Strait of Hormuz overnight, with reports suggesting Iran was responsible. As the urgent news broke, international oil prices surged. U.S. stock futures are also weak in early trading.
Lee Jae-won, a researcher at Yuanta Securities Korea, said, "Samsung Electronics announced a record-high preliminary result for the second quarter, but it fell short of investors' expectations, providing a pretext for profit-taking," adding that in this environment, a "memory adjustment theory" from foreign investment banks, doubts about the sustainability of hyperscalers' investment, and concentration in single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETF) are acting as headwinds.
The KOSDAQ is also down more than 2%. The KOSDAQ index is down more than 2% from the previous transaction day and is moving around the 810 level. Most biotech, secondary battery, and parts-materials-equipment stocks are falling.