[Anchor]

Today, July 2, the KOSPI index plummeted by nearly 8%, falling below the 8,000-point mark. Concerns over a potential peak in the semiconductor market have resurfaced, leading to a sharp decline in the shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The latest spark for this sell-off was news involving the U.S. tech giant Meta.

Reporter Min Gyeongho has the story.

[Reporter]

The lingering doubt that has shadowed semiconductor companies as they hit record highs day after day was simple: "Will semiconductors actually sell as much as currently expected?"

Consequently, the primary focus has been on whether hyperscalers—the largest consumers of semiconductors—might reduce their investments.

Recently, news broke that Meta, one of these hyperscalers, is planning to enter the cloud business by selling excess capacity from its existing data centers to external parties.

This led to speculation that if Meta has enough AI resources to sell to others, perhaps the demand for additional semiconductors is not as high as previously thought.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which tracks 30 major semiconductor companies in the U.S., fell by more than 6% overnight. The KOSPI also gave up the 8,000-point level today, closing at 7,648, a sharp decline of 7.9%.

Samsung Electronics shares fell by over 9%, while SK Hynix plummeted by 14.57%, marking its largest single-day drop on record.

Reports that Apple is pursuing contracts with Chinese semiconductor firms due to rising memory prices further dampened investor sentiment.

While the market has seen frequent sharp declines recently due to the semiconductor peak theory, the prevailing view among experts is that it is still too early to conclude that the market has peaked.

[Interview: Han Ji-young, Research Analyst at Kiwoom Securities: "Investors were looking for an excuse to take profits after the recent rally, and this news simply served as a trigger or a pretext. I find it difficult to view this as a fundamental negative factor."]

Analysts point out that Meta's plan to resell AI resources was already mentioned back in May when semiconductor stocks were surging. Furthermore, factors confirming strong demand—such as rising memory prices, increased data center rental costs, and the long-term semiconductor supply contracts confirmed in Micron's recent earnings report—remain intact.

For now, the preliminary earnings announcement from Samsung Electronics on July 7 and the Nasdaq listing of SK Hynix on July 10 are expected to be key variables for the Korean market.

However, as high volatility is expected to persist, experts are warning investors to exercise caution against impulsive trading.

(Video reported by Kim Se-kyung, Video edited by Kim Jin-won)