[Edaily Reporter Kim Kyung-eun] On the 8th, the KOSPI closed with a sharp drop of over 8% as concerns over interest rate hikes triggered by a surprise U.S. jobs report coincided with a plunge in semiconductor stocks. The market witnessed historic volatility, with circuit breakers and the “sidecar” mechanism triggered in quick succession during the session.

According to MP Doctor, the KOSPI closed at 7,484.41 today, plummeting 676.18 points (8.29%) from the previous trading day. This marks the second-largest single-day point drop in history. The largest drop was 698.37 points on March 4 of this year, during the U.S.-Israel-Iran crisis. In terms of percentage decline, the 8.37% drop ranks ninth all-time. The KOSDAQ also closed at 911.39, plummeting 91.05 points (9.08%), marking the 14th-largest single-day percentage decline in history.
By investor type, individual investors attempted to prop up the KOSPI by net buying 1.7628 trillion won, but their efforts were insufficient. Foreign and institutional investors net sold 356.2 billion won and 1.6248 trillion won, respectively. On the KOSDAQ, foreign investors (295.7 billion won) switched to net buying, while individual and institutional investors net sold 122.4 billion won and 146.7 billion won, respectively.
The trigger for the day’s decline was the May nonfarm payrolls report released in the U.S. on the 5th (local time). With employment increasing by 172,000—more than double the market forecast of 85,000—concerns over an early interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve surged. The U.S. 30-year Treasury yield surpassed 5%, and the fear index (VIX) surged 39.7%.
Compounding this, domestic semiconductor stocks faced a sell-off across the board in the wake of the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) plummeting 10.3%.
Intraday volatility was extreme. The KOSPI plunged 8.40% at 9:03 a.m., immediately after the market opened, triggering the ninth Level 1 circuit breaker in history. On the KOSDAQ, the sell-side circuit breaker was triggered at 9:06 a.m., followed by the KOSDAQ Level 1 circuit breaker at 2:36 p.m. This marks the second time this year and the 12th time in history.
This is the first time since March 4—immediately following the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran conflict—that circuit breakers have been triggered in both markets on the same day. It was a rollercoaster session, with the gap between the intraday high (8,048.09) and low (7,442.73) exceeding 605 points.
Kang Jin-hyuk, a senior researcher at Shinhan Investment Securities, analyzed, "This decline is more a matter of multiple deleveraging than earnings erosion," adding, "The 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio (PER) has fallen to 7.83x, placing it in the bottom 4% since 2023."
Top-market-cap stocks plummeted across the board. #Samsung Electronics closed at 295,500 won, down 33,500 won (10.18%). #SK Hynix closed at 1,911,000 won, down 159,000 won (7.68%). #SK Square (-11.13%), #Samsung C&T (-11.29%), #Hyundai Motor (-8.71%), #Samsung Life Insurance (-8.97%), #Samsung Electronics Preferred (-8.77%), #LG Energy Solution (-6.16%), #Samsung Electro-Mechanics (-5.29%), and #HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (-6.48%)—all top-market-cap stocks—plummeted.
On the KOSPI, only 43 stocks rose, while 876 fell.
On the KOSDAQ, all top-market-cap stocks also plummeted. #Ecopro BM (-11.33%), #Alteogen (-12.93%), #Ecopro (-11.22%), #Rainbow Robotics (-8.68%), #Juseong Engineering (-12.95%), #Kolon TissueGene (-9.98%), #Rino Industrial (-9.56%), #Samchundang Pharmaceutical (-18.15%), #HLB (-4.55%), and #Peptron (-9.07%) all closed with double-digit percentage declines.
By sector, all sectors closed lower except for telecommunications services (0.50%), which is considered a defensive stock. The sectors with the largest declines were life sciences (-11.61%), electronics (-11.47%), securities (-9.52%), auto parts (-9.37%), semiconductors (-9.18%), machinery (-9.08%), and banking (-8.57%).