[Anchor]
The Kospi plummeted, briefly sliding down to the 5,000 level. This downturn was driven by concerns that Chinese semiconductors could pose a threat to us, showing how the market is becoming increasingly sensitive to even anticipated news.
Reporter Lee Tae-gwon has the details.
[Reporter]
6,023.66.
With all sectors in the stock market declining, the Kospi has returned to the levels seen three months ago.
Both the Kospi and Kosdaq plunged right after the market opened, triggering sell sidecars in succession.
A circuit breaker, which halts trading in both markets for 20 minutes, was simultaneously activated 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 dropped to 5,992 during the session, breaking below the 6,000 mark. A total of 732 points were wiped out in a single day, marking the second-largest drop in history.
In terms of the 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 dropped by more than 28% this month alone, and is down more than 35% compared to the record intraday high of 9,385 set last month.
Semiconductor industry heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix plummeted 13.4% and 14.6% to close at 220,000 won and 1.55 million won, respectively, while all of the top five companies by market capitalization suffered double-digit losses.
Foreign investors led the index decline by net selling nearly 5 trillion won, the largest amount in a month.
Following the news two days ago on the 27th about the local market listing of Chinese DRAM maker ChangXin Memory Technologies, concerns spread that global memory competition could intensify due to domestic production of semiconductor equipment.
[Interview / Lee Hyo-seob, Head of Financial Industry Division, Korea Capital Market Institute : If people use products from Chinese memory companies, the market shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix could relatively decrease, and concerns over increased supply for semiconductor companies appear to have been quickly reflected in the market.]
The Kospi's return rate, which was the highest in the world at 101% this year, fell to 42%.
Total market capitalization also shrank by more than 2 trillion won from its peak to 4,933 trillion won, pushing its global stock market ranking down from 7th to 9th.
(Video filming: Lee Moo-jin, Lee Byung-joo | Video editing: Kim Ho-jin | Design: Kim Ye-ji)
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