KOSPI Plummets 6%... Circuit Breakers Triggered for Two Consecutive Days for the First Time in History

[Anchor]

It is a frightening time to open the stock trading window. The KOSPI plummeted 6%, slipping into the 5,600 range. As major semiconductor stocks faltered, circuit breakers were triggered for two consecutive days for the first time in history.

Reporter Lee Tae-gwon has the details.

[Reporter]

Overcoming the plunge from the day before yesterday (July 28) and opening higher, the KOSPI rebounded by up to 3% in early trading due to the inflow of low-price buying, but soon turned downward and expanded its losses.

Following a sell sidecar, a circuit breaker—which temporarily suspends trading for 20 minutes—was also triggered, and at one point during the session, the index plunged more than 12%, dragging it down to the 5,200 range.

Later, as institutional buying poured in and reduced the losses, the KOSPI closed at 5,663, down 5.9% from the day before yesterday.

The KOSDAQ index also plummeted, triggering a circuit breaker. This marks the first time in history that circuit breakers have been triggered for two consecutive days in both markets.

In the KOSPI market, retail and foreign investors net sold 1.9 trillion won and 1.2 trillion won, respectively, dragging down the index.

SK Hynix plummeted by nearly 20% at one point during the session before finishing down 9.6% from the day before yesterday in the 1.4 million won range, while Samsung Electronics also dropped to the 180,000 won range before closing down 5% in the 200,000 won range.

It is analyzed that although SK Hynix announced record-breaking earnings, they fell short of market expectations, and investor sentiment shrank amid concerns over the sustainability of AI investments, leading to panic selling.

[Interview / Kim Jae-seung, Researcher at Hyundai Motor Securities : With a considerable amount of concern regarding a peak-out right now, the fact that it failed to meet market expectations seems to amplify worries that earnings are forming a peak and will gradually decline.]

Amid consecutive days of sharp declines in the stock market, retail investors' fears and anxieties are also growing.

[Interview / Individual Investor : Summer is hot, but my domestic stock market is cold, you know. I kind of don't want to look at it, but they say if you just bury it away, it goes back up....]

As extreme volatility continues, investor deposits—which serve as waiting funds for the stock market—have plunged by more than 20% from 139.6948 trillion won early last month, shrinking to 107.1994 trillion won.

(Photo: Yonhap News / Video reporting: Kim Nam-sung, Ha Ryong | Video editing: Choi Jin-hwa | VJ: Jeong Han-wook | Design: Kim Han-gil)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.