South Korean Stocks Plunge as Chip Selloff Triggers Halt

South Korean stocks plunged on October 15 as a sharp selloff in chipmakers drove the benchmark KOSPI down 7.57% and triggered a 20-minute trading halt. The index closed at 5,554.22, its lowest finish since April 7, while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ fell 7.65% to 760.82, according to reported market data. The KOSPI fell as much as 9.29% during the session before recovering some ground. Trading was halted after the decline crossed the circuit-breaker threshold; the KOSDAQ also activated a circuit breaker. The episode marked the first time since July 29 that both markets had halted trading on the same day, one report said. The largest losses were among major chipmakers. Samsung Electronics shares fell about 9.5%, and SK hynix dropped about 11.1%. Selling also spread to other technology and industrial shares. Foreign investors sold a net 3.6 trillion won of KOSPI shares, while individual and institutional investors were reported as net buyers. Market reports linked the pressure to concerns about persistent U.S. inflation and the possibility of further Federal Reserve interest-rate increases, alongside worries about technology and artificial-intelligence-related spending. Those factors...