Kospi Reverses 4% Early Plunge as SK Hynix, Samsung Rebound

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi clawed back from an early slump of more than 4% on Friday (Oct 23) to finish slightly higher, as bargain hunters returned to chip heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, Korea JoongAng Daily reported. The index rose 16.53 points, or 0.3%, to close at 5,550.30, a day after it fell 3.52% to 5,533.77.

From a 4% plunge to a gain

The Kospi opened 130.6 points, or 2.36%, lower at 5,403.17, according to JoongAng Daily. Financial news site Bloomingbit reported the index sank as low as 5,305.98 in early trade, a loss of 4.12%, and briefly slipped below the 5,300 level before paring the decline.

Bloomingbit said foreign investors were net sellers early in the session, with retail and institutional investors absorbing the selling. JoongAng Daily reported that individual investors, initially net sellers, turned to net buying as the day went on.

Samsung Electronics, which Bloomingbit said had dropped 4.20% to 205,500 won in the morning, ended up 0.47% at 215,500 won. SK hynix, down 3.03% at 1.186 million won early on, closed 4.42% higher at 1.28 million won, JoongAng Daily said. The won strengthened by 0.4 won to 1,324.6 against the US dollar at 3:30pm.

AI spending doubts and oil weigh

The early sell-off followed a slide on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.6% and the S&P 500 fell 1.21% while the Dow edged up 0.02%. Micron Technology dropped 6.26%, Nvidia 4.4% and Intel 8.04%, JoongAng Daily reported. Bloomingbit said the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbled 6.7%.

KED Global attributed the morning losses to deepening doubts over AI companies’ ability to fund heavy infrastructure spending after Meta Platforms posted weak cash flow figures. Bloomingbit reported that Meta’s third-quarter revenue rose 26% from a year earlier, but its free cash flow swung to a deficit of US$2.12 billion.

Oil prices also added to the jitters. JoongAng Daily said crude climbed on supply concerns after Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they had again attacked key facilities in Saudi Arabia.

SK hynix drops Solidigm listing plan

Separately, SK hynix said on Friday it would halt its review of pre-IPO fundraising and a Nasdaq listing for its subsidiary Solidigm, according to Bloomingbit and KED Global. Bloomingbit reported the company cited capital-market conditions among the reasons. KED Global said investors gave the decision a muted response, with the stock remaining under pressure in morning trade before its afternoon rebound.

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