Japan and South Korea Stocks Slump on Profit-Taking; 'Memory Rising Star' Kioxia Bucks the Trend.

TradingKey - During the Asian trading session on June 23, Japanese and South Korean stock markets opened lower. The Nikkei 225 opened 0.33% lower, shedding over 200 points to trade at 72,112.43; the KOSPI plunged 1.6% at the open, falling below the 90,000-point mark to 8,968.43. Yesterday, the Nikkei 225 surged 1.55% to hit a record high, while the KOSPI index fluctuated at high levels.

KOSPI Index Chart, Source: TradingView

In terms of individual stocks, Samsung Electronics opened down over 1%, temporarily trading at 349,500 KRW; SK Hynix fell 0.31% to 2.91 million KRW, down 1.3%; Kioxia opened up 1.79% to 110,600 JPY. Kioxia Price Chart, Source: TradingView

Today's opening decline in Japanese and South Korean stock markets was not triggered by deteriorating fundamentals in a single country, but was rather the result of a combination of multiple negative factors, including the overnight plunge in US tech stocks, sudden shifts in the global political and geopolitical landscape, and key domestic events in South Korea.

In terms of news, Alphabet led the decline, dragging down the Nasdaq by 1.32%, while the newly listed SpaceX (SPCX) plunged over 16%, dampening market sentiment. U.S. President Trump's comments that he 'might take over the Strait of Hormuz' triggered a sharp drop in crude oil prices, hitting Japanese energy and foreign trade stocks. Furthermore, MSCI's announcement of its annual market classification review results today sparked severe market volatility.