South Korea's KOSPI tumbles 8.5% amid US tech selloff
The KOSPI, South Korea's main stock index, tumbled 8.5% on Friday morning, enough to pause trading for a bit.
This sudden drop was set off by a big selloff in US tech and chip stocks, which dragged the KOSPI below the 5,000-point mark that Lee Jae Myung once called his goal.
Just months ago, the index was riding high and had doubled in value.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix tumble
Worries about slowing AI data center growth and shifts in US politics spooked investors on Wall Street.
The Nasdaq 100 and Philly Semiconductor Index both took big hits, too, dropping 6% and 12%.
Korean giants like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix saw their shares nosedive as well.
Kim Dojoon, chief executive officer at Zian Investment Management, called it a "panic sell stage," saying investors are being forced to cash out as uncertainty takes over.