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2w ago

Foreign Selling and Chip Profit-Taking Push KOSPI Below 6,900

Losses have removed a key source of support, leaving Korea's large-cap market highly sensitive to US yields, oil prices, upcoming tech reports, and trade data.

Financial data is displayed on a screen at Hana Bank's dealing room in central Seoul on Sept. 23, 2026. (Yonhap)
Financial data is displayed on a screen at Hana Bank's dealing room in central Seoul on Sept. 29, 2026. (Yonhap)
The closing price of the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) is displayed on a screen in Hana Bank's dealing room in central Seoul on Sept. 30, 2026. (Yonhap)

Overview

  • The slide began with heavy profit-taking in semiconductor giants that drove a sharp drop in the benchmark index, with the KOSPI falling 2.7% to 6,889.74 on Monday after trading resumed from the Chuseok holiday.
  • Overseas and institutional investors were major sellers, recorded as net outflows totaling trillions of won during the Sept. 28–29 sessions, and foreign selling resumed into the Sept. 30 session, amplifying downward pressure on large caps.
  • Rising US Treasury yields and higher oil prices combined with renewed US–Iran tensions reduced global risk appetite and made Korean equities more vulnerable to large moves in a few names.
  • Market structure risks increased as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix — both heavily weighted in the KOSPI — faced big swings while their large buyback programmes approach completion, removing an important artificial floor for demand.
  • Smaller caps and the KOSDAQ diverged by showing pockets of strength in biotech and growth names, and investors are watching Micron’s earnings and Korea trade figures for fresh signals that could change semiconductor demand expectations and market direction.