KOSPI Rebounds Nearly 4% in Early Trading, Escaping Bear Market Territory
South Korea’s KOSPI peaked at 7,539 on Thursday, July 9, a gain of nearly 4% from Wednesday’s close of 7,246.79. The rebound pulls the benchmark back above the threshold that confirmed a bear market just a day earlier.
Wednesday’s Plunge Set the Bear Market Trigger
The rebound follows a brutal Wednesday session. The KOSPI fell 5.35% to close at 7,246.79, its lowest level since May 20. That close sat more than 20% below the index’s June 22 record of 9,114.55, the threshold traders use to confirm a bear market.
Sharp swings in chipmaker stocks tied to AI demand worries, along with growing concern over leveraged single-stock ETFs, drove the sell-off and triggered a sidecar trading halt.
Chip Stocks Remain the Swing Factor
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the KOSPI’s two heavyweight constituents, led Wednesday’s losses after a slump in US semiconductor shares. SK Hynix is separately pushing ahead with its roughly $29 billion Nasdaq listing.
UBS recently advised clients to bet on a pricing gap between the stock’s Seoul and US listings, adding fresh scrutiny to the deal. The chip sector’s swings have also split Wall Street, with JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley diverging on whether to buy the AI-chip dip.
South Korea’s Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol pledged to closely watch volatility risks tied to leveraged ETFs. Kiwoom Securities analyst Han Ji-young pointed to spillover from the prior session’s weakness, along with concerns about slowing memory-price growth and uncertainty over whether chipmaker earnings have peaked.
Thursday’s open marks the KOSPI’s latest reversal in a year that has brought repeated trading halts and sharp swings. Whether the bounce holds may depend on how chipmakers trade through the day. Thursday’s early gain could still fade before the close.
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