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Seoul stocks plunge 8%, halting trading, as AI fears hit chipmakers

South Korea's Kospi index fell more than 8% on Friday and trading paused for 20 minutes. Fears that a Democratic win in the US midterms could slow data center building hit chip stocks.

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Photo: USAGI_POST, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

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South Korea's stock exchange operator stopped trading in Kospi-listed shares on Friday for 20 minutes. The pause began at 9:03 a.m. It was set off by a steep sell-off in technology shares. The Kospi is the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index.

Markets

The index had opened 2.2% lower at 5,263.63. Losses deepened fast, and the halt came about three minutes into the regular session. The index had dropped more than 8% from the previous close when the pause started.

In numbers

  • -8.55%Kospi drop by 9:25 a.m.
  • 4,923.47Kospi level
  • 20 minutesTrading halt length

Kospi, the past month

5,130.88down −26.08%

6,941.395,130.886 Oct6 Nov

Markets

At 9:25 a.m., the Kospi was down 460.33 points, or 8.55%, at 4,923.47. That pushed it below the 5,000-point mark. A circuit breaker is a rule that pauses trading for a set time after a sharp fall, to give investors time to react.

Blue-chip chip stocks fell around 10% during the day. Samsung and SK hynix were among those sliding. The selling followed a rout in tech shares on Wall Street overnight.

Investors on Wall Street feared that a sweeping Democratic win in the US midterm elections could slow the build-out of data centers. Those facilities power artificial intelligence, and chipmakers rely on demand from them. Japanese stocks also fell sharply.

Kospi5,130.88down −26.08%over 1 month
6,941.395,130.886 Oct6 Nov

Prices can be delayed by 15 minutes or more. Past moves say nothing about future ones.

Also in this story

Nikkei 225down −18.14%1 month

Background

The Kospi opened 2.2% lower before losses deepened and a circuit breaker paused trading.

Where
South Korea
Published
Section
Markets
Markets
Kospi, Nikkei 225

This article is not investment advice. It was written by our automated newsroom from published reports and official statements, using only the facts in them, and not read by a person before it was published. Report a mistake
Photo: USAGI_POST, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

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