[Anchor]
Today, our stock market plunged once again. The KOSPI tumbled by more than 10%, briefly dropping below the 6,000 mark. It has plummeted by 30% this month alone, a drop steeper than during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Tonight's 8 O'Clock News will examine the background and outlook of this historic market crash in detail.
First, let's go to reporter Lee Tae-gwon.
[Reporter]
6,023.66.
With every sector in the stock market declining, the KOSPI has retreated to the level it was at three months ago.
Both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ plummeted immediately after the market opened, triggering sell-sidecars one after another.
A circuit breaker, which halts trading for 20 minutes in both markets, was simultaneously triggered for the third time this year, and the markets ultimately closed down 10.8% and 7.7% at 6,023 and 705, respectively.
In particular, the KOSPI briefly slumped to 5,992 during the session, breaking below the 6,000 threshold. Plunging 732 points in a single day, it marked the second-largest drop in history.
In terms of percentage decline, it was the steepest since March 4, immediately following the outbreak of the war in Iran.
A total of 878 stocks declined, while only 36 advanced.
The KOSPI has fallen by over 28% this month alone, and is down more than 35% compared to its intraday record high of 9,385 reached last month.
Semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix plummeted 13.4% and 14.6%, respectively, finishing at 220,000 won and 1.55 million won, while the top five companies by market capitalization all suffered double-digit plunges.
Foreign investors net sold nearly 5 trillion won, the largest amount in a month, driving the index down.
Following news yesterday of Chinese DRAM maker ChangXin Memory Technologies' local market listing, concerns spread that self-production of semiconductor equipment could intensify global memory competition.
[Interview / Lee Hyo-seop / Head of Financial Industry Research Center, Korea Institute of Finance]: "If people use products from Chinese memory makers, the market share of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix could relatively decrease, and concerns over increased supply for semiconductor companies appear to be quickly reflected in the market."
The KOSPI's return, which was the highest in the world at 101% this year, has dropped to 42%.
Market capitalization also shrank to 4,933 trillion won, shrinking by over 2,000 trillion won from its peak, causing its global stock market ranking to slip from 7th to 9th.
(Video by Lee Moo-jin and Lee Byung-joo | Video Editing by Kim Ho-jin | Design by Kim Ye-ji)
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