South Korea’s Stock Market Has Wild Start to the Week

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index experienced a volatile start to the week, falling more than 8 percent on Monday before rebounding by a similar margin on Tuesday and erasing its losses, Will Martin reported for Business Insider.

Electronic stock displays in Seoul track major swings in the Kospi index as AI-driven technology shares fuel market volatility. (Photo: Hyolee2)

The Kospi has reportedly gained more than 180 percent over the past 12 months as investors pour money into artificial intelligence-related companies.

“A day with a rise or fall of less than 5 percent in the Kospi has become rare — a sign of just how volatile this market has become,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote, wrote in a morning note.

South Korea’s stock market is heavily influenced by technology giants Samsung and SK Hynix, both of which reportedly surpassed market capitalizations of more than $1 trillion in recent weeks.

Together, the two firms account for roughly half of the index’s total market capitalization, meaning large share-price movements can significantly influence the Kospi.

On Monday, SK Hynix lost more than 10 percent of its value, while Samsung dropped about 8 percent.

The following day, SK Hynix gained 15 percent, while Samsung rose 9 percent.

The fortunes of both companies are closely tied to U.S. technology giants such as Nvidia and Google, meaning sharp declines in U.S. tech stocks can ripple into the Korean market.

On Friday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq index fell nearly 5 percent, dragged lower by investor profit-taking in semiconductor stocks. Because South Korean markets had already closed before the Nasdaq decline, the full impact was not felt in Asia until Monday.