South Korea's Kospi, the world's best-performing market of 2026, snapped a two-session gaining streak to sink 5% on Thursday as heavyweight chipmakers Samsung and SK Hynix slipped amid a global rout, deepening massive losses for the country’s retail investors.
Kospi plunged more than 5% to 6,238 on Thursday, as Samsung shares tumbled over 5% and SK Hynix tanked nearly 7%. The South Korean market is tracking a tech rout on Wall Street, where Nasdaq fell nearly 1% as SpaceX and Advanced Micro Devices slid following their earnings reports. Foreign investors continued to be net sellers in the Korean market, selling shares worth $108.5 million.
