Kospi Drops 3%, Nikkei Breaches 63,000 Level as SoftBank Tumbles Over 10%, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Kioxia Plunge

TradingKey - Japanese and South Korean stock markets plunge at the open! SoftBank drops over 10%, while Kioxia, Samsung, and SK Hynix tumble in unison.

During Asian trading hours on September 14, Japanese and South Korean stock markets generally opened lower and trended downward, carrying over the selling pressure and cautious sentiment from the latter half of last week. Among them, South Korea's KOSPI Index plunged 3.27% at the open, breaking directly below the 6,700 mark to stand at 6,683.99 points. Core tech chip stocks fell sharply across the board, with Samsung Electronics dropping 3.85%, losing the 250,000 mark to trade at 249,500 South Korean won; SK Hynix opened down 5.19%, trading at 1,718,000 South Korean won.

KOSPI Index chart, source: TradingView

The Nikkei 225 Index also opened lower and trended downward, dropping 1.76% to lose the 63,000 mark, standing at 62,883.02 points. Two major heavyweight stocks were both dragged down: SoftBank's share price fell 10.35% to 5,863 yen; Kioxia dropped 9.29%, losing the 50,000 mark to trade at 49,010 yen.

As the Bank of Japan (BOJ) continues to signal monetary policy normalization, market expectations remain that rate hikes are still possible within the year. A stronger yen weighs on earnings expectations for Japanese export-oriented manufacturers, dragging down the market. In addition, starting today, the Korea Exchange officially extended stock trading hours to 8 p.m. to attract international capital from Europe and the U.S. On the first day of the new mechanism, some institutional and retail investors remained relatively cautious during the opening session, taking a wait-and-see stance on changes in liquidity distribution throughout the day.

Most crucially, global markets this week (September 15-16) are focused on the upcoming Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate decision. Risk aversion among investors remains high ahead of the decision, with foreign capital in the South Korean market temporarily opting for a wait-and-see approach or posting net outflows.