"Does it make any sense that Samsung Electronics and SK hynix each drop 10% intraday? Korea's flagship stocks are moving like small-cap junk stocks."
As Samsung Electronics and SK hynix(000660), the semiconductor large caps leading the domestic stock market, plunged, a flood of posts filled with individual investors' anger poured into major stock communities, stock discussion boards, and other social networking services (SNS).
Concerns about the semiconductor cycle and simultaneous selling by foreigners and institutions overlapped, and as even the large caps that had supported the market collapsed helplessly, retail investors' sentiment also fell into panic.
On the 29th, the KOSPI index fell 360.42 points (-5.98%) from the previous session to 5663.24, and the KOSDAQ index closed down 43.17 points (-6.12%) at 662.68. As heavy panic-selling orders poured in during the session, both markets, KOSPI and KOSDAQ, saw the unprecedented event in stock market history of sell-sidecars and circuit breakers being triggered together for a second straight day.
In particular, SK hynix, the bellwether semiconductor stock, tumbled 9.61% from the previous session to 1,401,000 won, as worries that results might miss market expectations overlapped despite record-high second-quarter earnings.
Samsung Electronics also closed at 208,500 won, down 5.23% from the previous session. At one point intraday, the drop widened to 14%.
Online stock communities and SNS are seeing a stream of desperate stories from investors who suffered massive losses in this plunge. One investor said, "After signing an apartment contract, I tried to use the remaining 500 million won in cash after the interim payment to leverage into semiconductor stocks, but I lost more than half," and noted, "Even if I pool my severance pay, I can't make the interim payment."
Another investor also said, "I put all my strength into Samsung Electronics, and in two months I blew 400 million won," adding, "I even missed the timing to cut losses and have given up." In some stock discussion rooms, there were self-deprecating posts such as, "I held on because of margin trading and ended up liquidating everything," and "With home prices and inflation rising, and now stocks wrecked too, I've let go of the desire to grow my assets." There were even eyewitness accounts saying, "On vacation, we had a marital fight because of stocks," conveying how dire the mood on the ground has become.
Views on the crash are sharply divided. Online, there were not a few reactions calling for an "escape from the Korean stock market." One investor said, "Seeing even KOSPI bellwethers unable to withstand volatility and collapsing makes me realize how weak the fundamentals of the Korean market are," and argued, "It's not for nothing that people say leaving the Korean stock market correlates with intelligence. Switching to other assets like the U.S. market or real estate is the only way to survive."
Conversely, some argue that investors should look for a "buy the dip" opportunity, expecting a technical rebound. A user who shared chart analysis said, "Institutions threw an avalanche of profit-taking, using 'results missing expectations' as an excuse," adding, "Monster-level scale such as the HBM4 exclusive momentum and high operating margin remains unchanged. It's a bearish alignment phase with moving averages broken, but if trading volume decreases at the bottom and you approach with staggered buying, it could be a good opportunity."
Another investor also noted, "This could be the last 'shakeout of retail investors' before a rise," and warned against excessive fear.
Experts said they understand investors' psychological anxiety caused by the plunge in large caps, but advised against impulsive trading while gripped by fear.
Han Ji-young, a Kiwoom Securities researcher, said, "After a 10% plunge yesterday, as rebound expectations receded, panic selling by most stockholders to lock in losses is the essence of today's crash," and added, "An explosion in single-stock inverse trading is also amplifying volatility."
This week's scheduled Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and big tech earnings releases are likely to be the watershed for a rebound.
Lee Kyung-min, a Daishin Securities researcher, analyzed, "How much the earnings releases by global big tech firms such as Meta and Amazon can dispel the market's doubts about return on investment in artificial intelligence (AI) will be the watershed that determines the future direction of the stock market."
Han Ji-young said, "Starting early tomorrow morning, the key will be whether U.S. hyperscalers show earnings and cash flow improvements sufficient to allay profitability concerns, whether renewed expectations for U.S.-Iran talks come to the fore, or whether the July FOMC wraps up smoothly."