Kospi plunges over 11% as SK Hynix reports weak results
Business
South Korea's Kospi index just plunged more than 11%, enough to trigger another trading halt.
The big drop came after SK Hynix, a major memory chipmaker, posted disappointing earnings, sparking a wave of selling in AI and tech stocks.
After a strong start to the year, Kospi is now down more than 30% in July alone, its worst monthly performance on record.
Investor retreat dents semiconductor confidence
SK Hynix's weak results rattled confidence in South Korea's prized semiconductor industry and dragged down Samsung Electronics too.
With both retail and institutional investors backing away from tech shares, the sell-off highlights how much the market relies on chips, and how global worries about tech valuations and AI spending sustainability are hitting home.