High-flying South Korean equities slid sharply from an all-time high on Tuesday morning as investors dumped chip heavyweights amid growing concerns that the rally had become overstretched. The Kospi deepened its losses to 9.99%, its steepest drop in more than three months, with SK Hynix Inc. shedding over 11% and Samsung Electronics Co. falling more than 8%. Korea Exchange suspended trading for 20 minutes, activating market circuit breakers that have been triggered with greater frequency this year.
The retreat came after the benchmark index resumed its upward climb earlier this month, notching a series of record highs and crossing the 9,000 level for the first time as markets looked past uncertainty stemming from the Iran war. Risk appetite around high-flying tech names turned fragile during Monday's US session, with SpaceX shares sliding and focus shifting toward memory chipmaker Micron Technology Inc.'s quarterly earnings due later this week.
