Kospi Plunges 5.5% as Chip Stocks Slide on China Memory Fears and AI Valuation Worries
Kospi falls 5.5% in Seoul trading as a selloff in semiconductor shares pulled South Korea’s benchmark index below the 6,000-point level on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. The index closed at 6,035.35, down 5.46%, after recovering some losses in the afternoon.
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix fell about 7% and 10%, respectively, at the close, according to Bloomberg. Foreign investors sold a net 2.2 trillion won (about $1.5 billion) worth of Kospi shares on Tuesday, bringing their net selling this month to nearly 8 trillion won.
What triggered the selloff as Kospi falls 5.5%
Several pressures converged. The decline followed overnight weakness in US technology stocks. Local reports also pointed to an announcement by China’s memory maker CXMT. The company said it had made progress in DRAM ...