Business · Markets · 2 hrs ago
South Korea’s KOSPI falls below 6,500 despite strong Samsung results
South Korea’s KOSPI index dropped below 6,500 during trading on Oct.
12, its first time below that level in about six weeks.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix shares fell, while foreign investors continued selling South Korean stocks for a fifth straight trading day.
The decline came even after Samsung announced strong third-quarter results on Oct.
8.
Investors are looking for more evidence that demand for semiconductors will last and that South Korean companies can compete in high-bandwidth memory chips.
Concern about OpenAI’s reported revenue had weighed on technology shares, but the reported gap was linked to accounting methods rather than a fall in actual revenue.
Upcoming results from chipmakers ASML, TSMC and SK Hynix, as well as a Samsung investor call, may offer more clues about the sector’s outlook.
Investors are also watching US inflation data due this week, and analysts say a sustained market rebound may take time.
South Korea’s KOSPI fell below 6,500 during trading on October 12 for the first time in about a month and a half.
At 11:42 a.m. local time, the index was down 2.26% at 6,475.88.
The fall came despite Samsung Electronics’ strong third-quarter results announced on October 8.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix shares dropped 2.0% and 3.03%, respectively, while foreign investors continued selling for a fifth straight session.
Analysts said investors were looking for further evidence of South Korean chipmakers’ competitiveness and the durability of the semiconductor upturn.
- Who
- South Korean stock market investors, including foreign investors, institutions and individual investors.
- What
- The KOSPI fell below 6,500 during trading, despite Samsung Electronics’ strong results.
- When
- October 12, 2026; at 11:42 a.m. local time, the index was at 6,475.88.
- Where
- South Korea.
- Why
- Foreign investors continued selling, and investors sought more evidence of semiconductor companies’ competitiveness and future growth.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The semiconductor TOP 2 (Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix) are weakening as they digest the OpenAI-originated bubble narrative.
It is not yet time to interpret this as a weakening of the competitiveness of Korean semiconductors.
Until the data are confirmed, it is difficult to expect a trend reversal in the index, and a strictly range-bound approach is unavoidable.
Samsung Electronics announced its third-quarter results.
News that OpenAI’s annual revenue was $20 billion lower than previously reported was followed by a 1.25% fall in the Nasdaq Composite.
The Nasdaq Composite rebounded 0.64%.
The KOSPI fell below 6,500 during trading, reaching 6,475.88 at 11:42 a.m. local time.
- KOSPI
- 6,475.88 at 11:42 a.m. on October 12
- KOSPI daily change
- Down 150.05 points, or 2.26%
- Samsung Electronics
- Down 2.0%
- SK Hynix
- Down 3.03%
- Foreign investors
- Net sellers for five consecutive trading sessions; net sales of 966.8 billion won as of the report
- Index level
- Fell below 6,500 for the first time since September 3 during trading
Sources
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