A steep sell-off in South Korea spread to Europe and the U.S. on Tuesday, as investors, traders and speculators asked hard questions about the sustainability of capex plans amid what so far has seemed to be an ever-expanding artificial intelligence (AI) boom. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is talking up another cutting-edge corner of the stock market.
The KOSPI Index, which includes South Korea-based semiconductor stocks such as Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) and SK Hynix (HXSCL), fell 910 points, or 9.99%, to 8,203 on Tuesday. The two chipmakers, which account for more than half of the KOSPI's value, had led the index past the 9,100 level for the first time ever on Monday.
