Constitution Day Saves the Market... Calls for "Make Monday a Temporary Holiday"

"Constitution Day has saved the KOSPI."

Following the U.S. semiconductor stock plunge, posts flooded online communities yesterday (July 17), Constitution Day, expressing relief that the South Korean stock market avoided the shock due to the holiday closure.

In fact, the American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) of SK Hynix plummeted 13.69% on the New York Stock Exchange on the 16th (local time).

Nvidia and Alphabet also fell by 2.40% and 4.4%, respectively, while memory-related stocks such as Micron, SanDisk, Seagate, and Western Digital all saw declines.

The repercussions immediately hit Asian markets.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index dropped 4.03% in a single day, and at one point during the session, it fell by more than 6%, marking the fifth-largest decline in its history.

Semiconductor firm Kioxia Holdings plunged 16.1% from the previous trading day, falling to 52,110 yen, which is half the level of the all-time high it recorded last month.

In Taiwan, despite TSMC reporting second-quarter earnings that exceeded market expectations, semiconductor-related stocks plummeted in tandem, causing the Taiex index to tumble 6.47%.

South Korea, on the other hand, avoided the shock thanks to the market closure.

As posts such as "Constitution Day protected the country" continued to appear on online communities and social media, some also predicted that the market would inevitably face the shock once it reopens on Monday.

Amid this situation, SK Chairman Chey Tae-won offered reassurance at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's summer forum yesterday, stating, "Memory will continue to be needed, so it will trend upward over time." He added, "I don't know what the stock price will be next month, but the best way to preserve your assets is to hold onto them rather than buying and selling."

He further projected, "AI is still like a four-year-old child, but it will continue to need memory as it grows into an adult," adding, "Demand is bound to increase exponentially in the future."

Reported by Lee Ho-geon | Video by Na Hong-hee | Graphics by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.