[Edaily Reporter Park Jeong-soo] The KOSPI plunged back into a sharp decline within a single day, falling below the 7,600 mark. Investor sentiment contracted sharply as a U.S.-driven sell-off in semiconductors coincided with geopolitical risks in the Middle East, triggering a sell-side circuit breaker on the stock market.
According to MP Doctor on the 10th, as of 1:51 p.m., the KOSPI was trading at 7,609.14, down 6.02% (487.79 points) from the previous trading day. During the session, it fell as low as the 7,560 level.
Notably, the sell-side circuit breaker was triggered on the stock market at 1:16:25 p.m. today. The circuit breaker is a market stabilization mechanism designed to prevent sharp fluctuations in the futures market from spreading to the spot market through program trading.
The sell-side sidecar is triggered when the price of KOSPI 200 futures, which use the KOSPI 200 as the underlying asset, falls more than 5% below the reference price and remains there for at least one minute. As a result, the effectiveness of program sell orders on the stock market was suspended for the following five minutes.
Kang Jin-hyuk, an analyst at Shinhan Investment Securities, stated, “The domestic stock market is facing downward pressure due to a sell-off in semiconductor-focused tech stocks in the U.S. market, compounded by heightened military tensions between the U.S. and Iran prior to the market opening.” He added, “Volatility is increasing, particularly among large-cap stocks, as localized conflicts continue—including Iran’s downing of a U.S. military helicopter, the U.S. response to it, and Iran’s drone attack on the U.S. 5th Fleet.”
In the KOSPI market, foreign and institutional investors are selling 2.9613 trillion won and 1.1438 trillion won worth of stocks, respectively, while retail investors are showing a net buying position of 3.9288 trillion won. Program trading, combining arbitrage and non-arbitrage trades, shows a net sell of 2.5128 trillion won.
With declining sectors dominating the market, insurance and electronics are down more than 7%, while manufacturing is falling by around 6%. Financials, retail, and securities are recording declines of around 4%. In contrast, real estate, construction, and textiles/apparel are rising by around 1%.
Most of the top market cap stocks are down, with #Samsung Life Insurance, #Samsung C&T, and #SK Hynix recording declines in the 8% range, while #SK Square and #Hyundai Motor are down more than 7%. #Samsung Electronics and #Samsung Electro-Mechanics are down in the 6% range, and #Kia and #LG Energy Solution are down more than 5%. In contrast, #HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is up by about 1%.
The KOSDAQ market is also down 2.76% (26.68 points) from the previous trading day, currently at 941.13. Among the top market cap stocks, declines are predominant, with #Rino Industrial down by over 6% and #Padoo and #Rainbow Robotics down by more than 5%.