KOSPI Drops Over 1%, Kioxia Plunges 12%, Samsung Electronics and SoftBank Fall 3%

TradingKey - Countdown to U.S. midterms: Japanese and South Korean stock markets open lower on risk aversion, with Samsung losing the 220,000 level and Kioxia plunging 12%, as the market awaits a post-election rebound rally.

On November 2 during Asian trading hours, Japanese and South Korean stock markets extended last Friday's risk-averse sentiment, with both opening lower today. South Korean stocks continued to weaken and test lower levels dragged down by semiconductors, while Japanese stocks opened slightly lower amid defensive rotation.

South Korea's benchmark KOSPI Index opened sharply lower and continued to slide, falling 1.10% to trade at 5,667.49 points; Samsung Electronics fell 3%, breaching the 220,000 mark to trade at 218,500 KRW; SK Hynix fell 1.4%, losing the 1.4 million level to trade at 1,399,000 KRW.

KOSPI Index Chart, Source: TradingView

The Nikkei 225 Index also opened lower and tracked downward, but was more resilient compared to the KOSPI, falling 0.33% to trade at 63,082.53 points; Kioxia plunged 12.36% to stand at 11,805 JPY; SoftBank fell 3.19% to stand at 4,338 JPY.

Today's gap-down opening in Japanese and South Korean stock markets represents a classic pre-election safe-haven sell-off. As voting in tomorrow's U.S. midterm elections concludes, once election results smoothly emerge, accumulated sidelined capital is expected to fuel a strong post-election rebound rally in early-to-mid November.