Japan, South Korea Stocks Slump in Early Trade; Kospi Drops Over 4%, SK Hynix Falls Over 6%, Kioxia Down Over 8%

TradingKey - On October 15, Japanese and South Korean stock markets fell sharply in early trading, with South Korean stocks suffering particularly notable losses. The Nikkei 225 Index opened 1.28% lower at 66,880.37 points before extending its decline to 2.39% at 66,124.77 points; the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened 5.59% lower at 5,673.01 points before rebounding to 5,736.59 points, narrowing its loss to 4.53%.

Source: TradingView

South Korean semiconductor leaders faced a sell-off, with Samsung Electronics falling 5.39% to 219,500 won (approx. $193) and SK Hynix dropping 6.55% to 1.326 million won. Japanese tech stocks were also under pressure, with Kioxia dropping 8.10% to 13,500 yen (approx. $85) and SoftBank Group declining 7.14% to 4,969 yen.

Overnight US inflation data came in higher than expected, deepening market concerns over the trajectory of interest rates. The US Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3.7% year-on-year in September, while core CPI increased 2.6% year-on-year, both beating market expectations. Against this backdrop, expectations for an October rate hike briefly heated up, with the probability rising from 22% to 50%, putting risk assets under pressure.

The three major US stock indexes mostly closed lower overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.09% to 51,621.48 points; the S&P 500 Index declined 1.11% to 7,718.94 points, snapping a 53-consecutive-trading-day streak of single-day losses not exceeding 1%; the Nasdaq Composite Index slid 1.88% to 26,692.87 points.