[Edaily Reporter KIM YOON-JEONG ] The KOSPI is plunging more than 5% in early trading on the 3rd, falling below the 8,000 mark. This is due to a sharp decline in investor sentiment as profit-taking in U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor stocks has spread to domestic semiconductor stocks. A sell-side circuit breaker was also triggered on the KOSPI market.

According to MP Doctor on the 3rd, as of 9:08 a.m., the KOSPI stood at 7,858.12, down 445.29 points (5.36%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 7,933.10 but fell to 7,810.95 during the session, dropping below the 7,800 mark. At 9:07 a.m., the KOSPI 200 futures fell 6.05% from the reference price, triggering the sell-side circuit breaker on the stock market. As a result, the execution of program sell orders was temporarily suspended for five minutes.
In terms of market participants, retail investors are net buyers of 974.8 billion won worth of shares, while institutions are net buyers of 201.8 billion won worth. In contrast, foreign investors are net sellers of 1.2128 trillion won worth of shares, dragging the index down.
Overnight, the New York stock market fell across the board as profit-taking selling flooded the market, particularly in AI semiconductor stocks. With Micron (-10.6%), SanDisk (-10.6%), AMD (-6.9%), Intel (-9.0%), Broadcom (-2.2%), and NVIDIA (-1.3%) all posting losses, the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.66% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged more than 6%.
News of Meta’s entry into the cloud business is believed to have stoked concerns about the AI investment cycle. As the market interpreted that large-scale AI infrastructure investments could lead to a slowdown in future memory demand, profit-taking concentrated across the semiconductor sector.
Han Ji-young, an analyst at KIWOOM Securities, stated, “The domestic stock market is expected to open lower today as the 6% plunge in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index—triggered by Meta-related noise—exerts downward pressure on domestic semiconductor stocks,” but added “However, the KOSPI’s second-quarter earnings momentum remains intact, and it is a positive sign that rotational buying is emerging in sectors such as power equipment, defense, and biotech—which had been under pressure for an extended period as a counterbalance to the prolonged focus on semiconductors.”
The top KOSPI stocks by market capitalization are all trading lower. The top-ranked company by market cap, SamsungElectronics(005930), is trading at 294,500 won (-6.36%), while the second-ranked company, SK hynix(000660), is trading at 2,375,000 won (-7.23%).
In addition, SKSQUARE(402340)(-9.68%), SamsungElectronics(1P)(005935)(-4.11%), SamsungElectroMechanics(009150)(-8.16%), HyundaiMotor(005380)(-5.03%), LG Energy Solution(373220)(-1.01%), Samsung Life Insurance(032830)(-8.79%), SAMSUNG C&T CORPORATION(028260)(-7.49%), and HD HYUNDAI HEAVY INDUSTRIES(329180)(-4.07%) are also trading lower.
The KOSDAQ is also down by more than 4%. At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is trading at 892.08, down 37.27 points (4.01%) from the previous trading day.
In the KOSDAQ market, retail investors are net buyers of 66 billion won worth of shares, while institutional investors are net buyers of 5.4 billion won worth. In contrast, foreign investors are net sellers of 72.3 billion won worth of shares.
Most of the top-market-cap stocks on the KOSDAQ are also down. Alteogen Inc.(196170), the top-ranked stock by market cap, is trading at 356,000 won (-0.56%), while ECOPRO BM CO., LTD.(247540), ranked second, is trading at 125,200 won (-5.65%).
In addition, ECOPRO CO., LTD(086520)(-3.33%), JUSUNG ENGINEERING Co.,Ltd.(036930)(-9.30%), Rainbow Robotics(277810)(-6.45%), WONIK IPS Co.,Ltd.(240810)(-10.39%), Kolon TissueGene, Inc.(950160)(-2.04%), HLB INC.(028300)(-3.19%), LEENO Industrial Inc(058470)(-3.43%), and PSK INC.(319660)(-4.73%) are also showing weakness.