[Edaily Reporter KIM YOON-JEONG ] The KOSPI plunged nearly 8% on the 2nd, falling back below the 7,000 mark for the first time in 14 trading days based on the closing price. Amid growing concerns over a slowdown in demand for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors following news of Meta’s entry into the cloud business, SamsungElectronics and SK hynix plunged 9.06% and 14.57%, respectively, dragging down the index. Shortly after the market opened, a sell-side circuit breaker was triggered on the KOSPI market, followed by another on the KOSDAQ market in the afternoon, resulting in sharp declines across both markets.

According to MP Doctor, the KOSPI closed at 7,648.09, down 655.32 points (7.89%) from the previous trading day. This marks the first time in 15 trading days—since the 11th of last month (7,763.95)—that the KOSPI index has fallen below the 7,000 mark based on the closing price.
The index opened at 7,933.10 and fell as low as 7,616.33 during the session. At 9:07 a.m., shortly after the market opened, KOSPI 200 futures dropped 6.05% from the reference price, triggering the sell-side circuit breaker on the stock market and temporarily suspending program sell orders for five minutes.
In terms of supply and demand on the stock market (based on Nextrade data), retail investors were net buyers of 7.0675 trillion won worth of shares, while foreign and institutional investors were net sellers of 4.8098 trillion won and 2.5743 trillion won, respectively. Foreign investors have now been net sellers for 10 consecutive trading days.
Market observers believe that investment sentiment across the semiconductor sector has sharply deteriorated, driven by Meta’s push to enter the cloud infrastructure business—which fueled concerns about a slowdown in the AI data center investment cycle—coupled with news that Apple is in supply negotiations with a Chinese memory manufacturer.
Lee Kyung-min, an analyst at DaishinSecurities, stated, “The news of Meta’s entry into the cloud infrastructure business triggered a sharp decline centered on the semiconductor sector, widening losses on both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ and triggering the sell-side circuit breaker,” adding "The news that Apple is in negotiations with two Chinese memory manufacturers also added to the pressure. Concerns are spreading that an increase in supply from Chinese memory manufacturers could alleviate memory bottlenecks and slow the upward trend in prices, which has exerted downward pressure on the semiconductor sector as a whole," he analyzed.
He continued, “However, it remains to be seen whether these issues will actually lead to a slowdown in memory demand,” adding, “We need to assess medium- to long-term demand and profitability in the semiconductor sector through SamsungElectronics’ preliminary earnings announcement scheduled for the 7th.”
SamsungElectronics(005930), the company with the largest market capitalization on the KOSPI, plummeted 28,500 won (9.06%) to 286,000 won compared to the previous trading day. SK hynix(000660), the second-largest by market cap, fell 373,000 won (14.57%) to 2,187,000 won, leading the decline in semiconductor stocks.
In addition, SKSQUARE(402340)(-13.20%), SamsungElectronics(1P)(005935)(-7.73%), SamsungElectroMechanics(009150)(-12.65%), HyundaiMotor(005380)(-1.13%), Samsung Life Insurance(032830)(-4.26%), SAMSUNG C&T CORPORATION(028260)(-6.34%), and HD HYUNDAI HEAVY INDUSTRIES(329180)(-4.07%) all fell. On the other hand, LG Energy Solution(373220)(1.72%) and #SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS (0.72%) closed higher.
The KOSDAQ also fell sharply. The KOSDAQ index closed at 866.72, down 62.63 points (6.74%) from the previous trading day.
The index opened at 904.53 and fell as low as 863.74 during the session. At 12:47 p.m., the KOSDAQ 150 futures price fell 6.05% from the reference price, and the KOSDAQ 150 spot index dropped by more than 3% for one minute, triggering a sell-side circuit breaker in the KOSDAQ market. As a result, the execution of program sell orders was temporarily suspended for five minutes.
In the KOSDAQ market, retail investors made net purchases worth 6440억원, while foreign and institutional investors made net sales of 3031억원 and 3612억원, respectively.
Alteogen Inc.(196170), the company with the largest market capitalization on the KOSDAQ, fell 6,500 won (1.82%) to 351,500 won. ECOPRO BM CO., LTD.(247540), the second-largest by market capitalization, dropped 7,200 won (5.43%) to 125,500 won.
In addition, ECOPRO CO., LTD(086520)(-6.56%), JUSUNG ENGINEERING Co.,Ltd.(036930)(-5.99%), Rainbow Robotics(277810)(-6.55%), Kolon TissueGene, Inc.(950160)(-6.34%), WONIK IPS Co.,Ltd.(240810)(-20.53%), HLB INC.(028300)(-5.68%), LEENO Industrial Inc(058470)(-8.08%), ABL Bio Inc.(298380)(-4.43%), PSK INC.(319660)(-13.48%), and others also fell across the board.