KOSPI drops 10.8% as chip selloff triggers halt

South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index plunged more than 10 percent on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in its worst single-day performance since April, triggering a temporary trading halt as a massive selloff in semiconductor stocks rattled Asian financial markets. The index closed at 6,023.63, a drop of 10.84 percent, after briefly falling below the 6,000-point mark during afternoon trading.

The downturn was driven by heavy foreign selling, which offloaded a net 4.98 trillion won ($3.41 billion) worth of shares. Retail and institutional investors were net buyers but could not offset the pressure. Chipmaking giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which together account for more than half of the KOSPI's market capitalization, bore the brunt of the losses. Samsung shares fell 13.39 percent, while SK Hynix plunged 14.65 percent.

Analysts attributed the sharp decline to a confluence of factors shaking investor confidence in the artificial intelligence investment cycle. Primary concerns include stretched semiconductor valuations, fears over the financing risks of massive AI infrastructure projects, and intensifying competition from China's domestic chip industry. Sentiment deteriorated...