From the Yonhap News Agency via UPI, October 15:
Seoul shares crash over 7 pct on chip rout amid AI, inflation woes
South Korean stocks plunged more than 7 percent Thursday as major chipmakers extended losses amid growing concerns over the sustainability of investments related to artificial intelligence (AI) and rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. The Korean won weakened against the U.S. dollar.
After opening 5.59 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) extended its losses, tumbling 454.59 points, or 7.57 percent, to end at 5,554.22, after dipping as low as 5,450.81.
The KOSPI fell for the seventh consecutive session, marking its longest losing streak since September 2024. Thursday's closing price was the lowest since April 7, when the index fell below 5,500.
The sharp sell-off prompted the Korea Exchange (KRX) to activate a sell-side sidecar shortly after the market opened, suspending program selling for five minutes as KOSPI 200 futures fell more than 5 percent for at least one minute.
As losses deepened, the bourse operator activated a circuit breaker at 12:38 p.m., halting trading on the main bourse for 20 minutes after the KOSPI dropped more than 8 percent from the previous session's close....
....MUCH MORE
Here's the three-month chart for the index from TradingView:
Down 16.59% in the last month, down 20.20% over the last three months.
