South Korea’s benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 3.73% Tuesday, wiping out a two-session rebound as technology shares led selling in a market that has surged on AI-linked chip demand.
Korea Exchange (KRX) figures cited by Yonhap News Agency put the close at 5,552.74, down 215.27 points. Yonhap’s opening report said the index began at 5,733.57, down 0.6%, before reaching an intraday low of 5,493.24. The decline erased the gains from the previous two sessions, Yonhap reported.
The drop followed a rebound in South Korean shares on Monday. Yonhap said the benchmark had fallen about 21% across seven sessions from Oct. 6 through Oct. 15. Korea Exchange said the KOSPI was up 115.1% since January as of June 18, when it closed above 9,000 for the first time, at 9,063.84. The exchange linked that earlier rally to demand for memory semiconductors tied to global AI infrastructure investment.
Yonhap reported that SK hynix fell 4.23% to 1.22 million won and Samsung Electronics declined 2.98% to 211,500 won. The agency also reported net sales of 535.4 billion won by foreign investors and 1 trillion won by institutions, while individual investors bought 900 billion won net. Yonhap cited profit-taking and concerns over AI spending. Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, told the agency that unresolved credit risks and questions about the profitability of AI investment were weighing on confidence in a lasting recovery.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down 1.3% at 64,075.42. On Monday, the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.11% to 26,430.89, Nasdaq data showed. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 7,690.73, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1% to 51,966.03, according to The Associated Press (AP).
AP described Monday’s gains as concentrated in AI and technology stocks, with shares elsewhere generally lower. It separately reported that investors were watching for further corporate earnings releases. At 11:10 p.m. ET Monday (03:10 UTC Tuesday, or 8:40 a.m. India Standard Time), NSE International Exchange showed the near-month GIFT Nifty contract up 0.33% at 22,940. The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) calendar listed Oct. 20 as a Dussehra equity-market holiday.
