KOSPI Falls Below 5,400 as Kioxia and SoftBank Slump 3%; SK Hynix Bucks Trend to Gain 1.7%

TradingKey - Japanese and South Korean equities retreated after an intraday surge, with the KOSPI falling 0.61% and slipping below 5,400 points, while the Nikkei barely held the 60,000-point milestone.

During Asian trading hours on November 12, both Japanese and South Korean stock markets saw morning strength give way to afternoon profit-taking, both ultimately closing slightly lower. The KOSPI index opened higher in the morning and briefly broke above 5,400 points, but weakened as broader Asian markets softened, ultimately ending down 0.61% at 5,342.73 points.

Although South Korea's two heavyweight stocks both retreated from session highs, their closing performances diverged: Samsung Electronics rose 1.7% to finish at 209,500 Korean won, holding above the 200,000-won mark, while SK Hynix fell 1.17% to 1,262,000 Korean won.

KOSPI Index Chart, Source: TradingView

The Nikkei 225 Index touched a high near 61,475 points in morning trade before selling pressure mounted in the afternoon, nearly breaching the 60,000 round-number mark and closing down 0.7% at 60,819.14 points; Kioxia fell 2.83% to close at 9,300 yen, while SoftBank slumped 3.04% to 3,738 yen.

Although the index lost the 61,000-point level today, the overall 60,000–60,500 range demonstrated robust institutional buying support during the bottoming process over recent days. As long as U.S. stocks do not face systemic headwinds, the Nikkei is expected to regain bullish momentum after retesting near 60,500 points. Meanwhile, benefiting from the U.S. data center construction boom and surging South Korean semiconductor exports, the KOSPI maintains solid support around the 5,000-point area.