On the 6th, the KOSPI index plunged more than 4.5% and sank to the 6,200 level. Along with weakness in U.S. tech stocks overnight on Wall Street, simultaneous selling by foreigners and institutions weighed on the index.
That day, the KOSPI index finished transaction at 6,296.38, down 301.88 points (4.58%) from the previous trading day. Starting at 6,478.75, down 119.51 points (1.81%) from the previous day, the KOSPI widened its losses, and at 10:18:12 a.m., after falling more than 4%, a sidecar was triggered, temporarily halting program sell quotes.
By investor type, foreigners and institutions led the decline with simultaneous selling. Foreigners showed net selling from early trading and dumped a net 3.9781 trillion won, while institutions also sold 235.7 billion won. Individuals alone net bought 4.1062 trillion won and absorbed the supply, but it was not enough to prevent the index from falling.
Among large-cap stocks by market capitalization, semiconductor shares took a direct hit. Bellwether Samsung Electronics finished transaction at 230,500 won, down 6.30% from the previous day, and SK hynix also closed down 10.37% at 1,495,000 won. In contrast, leading secondary-battery names LG Energy Solution(373220) (2.83%) and POSCO Holdings(005490) (0.63%) held up, ending higher.
Meanwhile, the KOSDAQ index ended the session at 801.67, up 2.08 points (0.26%) from the previous day. The KOSDAQ opened at 797.44, down 2.15 points (0.27%) from the previous trading day, and at one point during the session sank to the 770s, but later rebounded and turned higher.
Weakness in tech names, including semiconductors and big tech that blew in from Wall Street the previous day, is cited as the main cause of the KOSPI index's decline. Investor sentiment froze as profit-taking poured out, centered on global memory and artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor-related stocks. Alphabet, Google's parent company, plunged 4.06% on news that Jeff Dean, a key figure in AI and its chief scientist, is leaving, leading the tech sell-off.
It is also seen that Wall Street, after a steep climb, entering a breather phase weighed on investor sentiment in the domestic market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 263.24 points (0.49%) to 54,349.12, setting a record high on a closing basis. In contrast, the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 fell 12.97 points (0.17%) to 7,723.55, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped 221.55 points (0.83%) to 26,363.44 to finish transaction.