KOSPI is the major stock market index of South Korea. The index represents all common stocks traded on the Korea Exchange. KOSPI Composite Index (^KS11) 6,516.27 -304.33 (-4.46%) At close: 6:05:40 PM GMT+9. Previous Close 6,820.60 Open 6,643.58 Volume 345,825. KOSPI was introduced in 1983 with the base value of 100 as of 4 January 1980. It is calculated based on market capitalization. World shares are mixed and South Korea’s Kospi has fallen 4.5% as investors unload more stocks linked to artificial intelligence. Today, the KOSPI opened at 6,643.58. What is the day’s trading range for KOSPI? The KOSPI stock price has ranged from 6,472.80 to 6,814.86. KOSPI Composite Index value has decreased by −8.90% in the past week, since last month it has shown a −21.57% decrease, and over the year it’s increased by 103. KOSPI Composite Index historical charts for 180721 to see performance over time with comparisons to other stock exchanges. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index is the index of all common stocks traded on the Stock Market Division—previously, Korea Stock Exchange—of the Korea Exchange. It is the representative stock market index of South Korea, analogous to the S&P 500 in the United States. KOSPI was introduced in 1983 with the base value of 100 as of 4 January 1980. It is calculated based on market capitalization. As of 2007, KOSPI’s daily volume is hundreds of millions of shares, valued at trillions of won. The KOSPI index closed at 6,516.27 on July 20, 2026, marking a severe 4.46% drop (-304.33 points) in a single session.
Current Market Context & Bloodbath
- Worst Month Ever: The benchmark index has plummeted by approximately 23% to 28% over July 2026.
The benchmark KOSPI fell 4.46% to close at 6,516 on Monday, its lowest level since late April, as weakness in global semiconductor stocks weighed on investor sentiment. The decline followed another week of losses on Wall Street, where semiconductor shares remained under pressure amid lingering concerns over AI-related spending and valuations, weighing on broader market sentiment. Escalating Middle East tensions also dampened investor sentiment following continued US military strikes against Iran, fueling concerns over disruptions to energy supplies and pushing oil prices higher. Losses were seen in Samsung Electronics (-4.12%), SK Hynix (-3.85%), Hyundai Motor (-6.35%), LG Energy Solution (-4.79%), and KB Financial Group (-7.18%). Meanwhile, Samsung Biologics agreed to acquire Switzerland’s PolyPeptide Group in a $1.8 billion all-cash deal, the largest acquisition in South Korea’s biopharmaceutical industry, expanding its global CDMO business and peptide manufacturing capabilities.
South Korean Shares Hit Nearly 3-Month Low
The benchmark KOSPI fell 4.46% to close at 6,516 on Monday, its lowest level since late April, as weakness in global semiconductor stocks weighed on investor sentiment.
The decline followed another week of losses on Wall Street, where semiconductor shares remained under pressure amid lingering concerns over AI-related spending and valuations, weighing on broader market sentiment.
Escalating Middle East tensions also dampened investor sentiment following continued US military strikes against Iran, fueling concerns over disruptions to energy supplies and pushing oil prices higher.
Losses were seen in Samsung Electronics (-4.12%), SK Hynix (-3.85%), Hyundai Motor (-6.35%), LG Energy Solution (-4.79%), and KB Financial Group (-7.18%).
Meanwhile, Samsung Biologics agreed to acquire Switzerland’s PolyPeptide Group in a $1.8 billion all-cash deal, the largest acquisition in South Korea’s biopharmaceutical industry, expanding its global CDMO business and peptide manufacturing capabilities.
South Korean Shares Tumble on Tech Selloff
The benchmark KOSPI plunged 6.37% to close at 6,821 on Thursday, erasing gains from the previous session and approaching an over two-month low, as a global semiconductor selloff pressured technology shares. The decline followed overnight losses in US chipmakers, which reignited concerns over AI valuations and dragged South Korea’s semiconductor heavyweights lower, with SK Hynix (-11.58%) and Samsung Electronics (-8.94%) tumbling sharply. Other notable losses included SK Square (-12.30%), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (-9.62%), and Doosan Enerbility (-4.52%). Investor sentiment was also dampened by escalating Middle East tensions after fresh US strikes on Iran fueled concerns over energy supplies and weighed on risk appetite. Separately, the Bank of Korea raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.75% in line with expectations, marking the start of a new tightening cycle. Markets are closed on Friday in accordance to Constitution Day, trading will resume on July 20.
South Korean Shares Climb on Global Tech Rally
The benchmark KOSPI climbed 6.24% to close at 7,284 on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session amid a global technology rally.
Softer-than-expected US inflation data boosted semiconductor stocks and reduced expectations of near-term Federal Reserve tightening, supporting risk appetite.
Heavyweight chipmakers led the advance, with SK Hynix surging 9.46% after its US-listed shares rallied overnight, aided by a rebound in global semiconductor stocks and a favorable brokerage initiation.
Samsung Electronics also jumped 6.27%, while SK Square (16.72%), Hyundai Motor (2.12%), LG Energy Solution (4.04%), Kia Corporation (3.87%), and Hanwha Aerospace (6.6%) advanced.
Investor sentiment was further supported after South Korea’s finance ministry said the country’s economic recovery was solidifying on the back of robust exports and improving domestic demand, while raising its 2026 growth forecast to 3%.
Technical Bear Market: It sits more than 25% below its historic peak of 9,385.59 achieved in June 2026. KOSPI Falls Over 4% as Trading Resumes After Holiday, Deepening Bear Market South Korea’s KOSPI index reopened lower on July 20, its first session since Friday’s Constitution Day holiday. The index slid as low as 6,498 points before paring some losses.
The drop pushed the index more than 25% below its June peak, meeting the threshold for a technical bear market. Chip-sector jitters compounded with an escalating US-Iran conflict to drive the slide.
Chip Stocks Swing Hard on Reopening
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix stock both opened down more than 5% before foreign investors moved in. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index shed 4.3% while Korean markets stayed shut for the holiday last Friday. Rising competition from Chinese AI models added further pressure on the memory chip trade. Foreign investors net bought 278.4 billion won ($187.1 million) in early trading, concentrated in electronics stocks. Retail investors net sold 300.8 billion won over the same window. Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said the decline reflects how far leading stocks have fallen.
“Since July, the KOSPI has dropped by about 25% from its peak, entering a technical bear market. A sharp decline of 30–40% in leading stocks such as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics is amplifying the sense of decline.”
Won Slides as Middle East Risk Builds
The won-dollar rate opened at 1,488.3, extending its slide while oil prices climbed on fears that the conflict could disrupt the Strait of Hormuz. The stronger dollar added to import-price pressure already building after the Bank of Korea’s first rate hike since 2023.
Analysts see this week’s US hyperscaler earnings as the next catalyst. Alphabet reports July 22, with Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon following before month’s end. Their capital spending outlooks could determine whether chip stocks find a floor or extend the slide.
Massive Wealth Eradication: The crash has wiped out roughly ₩250 trillion in market capitalization.
South Korea’s KOSPI records largest monthly drop in history, falling 23% in July benchmark index erased roughly ₩250 trillion in market value as semiconductor stocks cratered and circuit breakers fired at an unprecedented pace stock market just had the worst month in its history. The KOSPI index fell approximately 23% in July 2026, wiping out roughly ₩250 trillion in market capitalization and triggering a record number of circuit breakers along the way.
How the collapse unfolded
The KOSPI peaked at 9,114 in June 2026, riding a wave of AI and semiconductor euphoria that had propelled South Korean tech giants to historic valuations.
By early July, the index had already slipped below 8,000 points.
On July 7, the sixth circuit breaker of 2026 was triggered as selling accelerated. Circuit breakers are automatic trading halts designed to prevent panic selling from spiraling out of control. South Korea’s version kicks in when the KOSPI drops more than a set percentage from the previous close. Six days later, on July 13, things got worse. The KOSPI closed at 6,806.93, down 8.95% in a single session, triggering the seventh circuit breaker of the year. By mid-month, the index was trading in a range of 6,500 to 7,200 points, representing a decline of more than 20% from its June peak.
Some reports put the total drawdown at over 31% from peak to trough.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the two heavyweights that dominate the KOSPI’s market cap, were ground zero for the carnage. Both stocks regularly posted single-day declines in the 9% to 12% range during the heaviest selloffs.
What triggered the meltdown
The proximate cause was a sudden reassessment of AI chip demand sustainability. For months, markets had priced in an almost limitless appetite for semiconductors driven by the global AI buildout. When cracks appeared in that narrative, the reversal was brutal.
Foreign investors and institutional players added fuel to the fire with sustained selling pressure throughout the month. The dynamics of leveraged ETFs, which had become increasingly popular among Korean retail investors during the rally, amplified the downturn. When leveraged products need to rebalance into a falling market, they mechanically sell more, creating a feedback loop that pushes prices even lower.
The seven circuit breaker activations by mid-July exceeded the total number triggered in most previous full calendar years.
The global context matters
South Korea’s stock market has long been considered a bellwether for global technology demand, given the country’s outsized role in semiconductor manufacturing. Samsung and SK Hynix together produce a massive share of the world’s memory chips, so when their stocks crater, it sends a signal far beyond Seoul.
What this means for investors
The leveraged ETF dimension deserves particular attention. Regulators worldwide have been watching the explosive growth of leveraged and inverse ETF products with increasing concern. Seven circuit breakers in half a month is exactly the kind of outcome that prompts regulatory action.
Trading Halts Triggered: Rapid programmatic panic-selling triggered the “Sidecar” program trading halt mechanism to restrict sell orders for 5 minutes. South Korea has seen a record 7 circuit breakers triggered so far this month. Why South Korea’s Stock Index Is More Volatile Than Bitcoin
Key Driving Triggers Behind the Crash
- AI & Semiconductor Reality Check: Ground zero for the crash is centered around tech heavyweights Samsung Electronics (fell 4.31% to ₩244,000) and SK Hynix (fell over 4%). Markets are aggressively reassessing the sustainability of global AI chip demand. Competition from Chinese open-source AI models (like Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3) also shaken global tech dominance.
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is holding steadier Monday, as stocks of chipmakers and other winners of the artificial-intelligence boom trim some of their sharp recent losses.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, coming off its first losing week in the last three and just its third since the end of March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 92 points, or 0.2%, as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher.
Nvidia added 1.4% and helped the market recover some of its losses, swinging back upward after its drop on Friday was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500. Sandisk climbed 3.9% after tumbling 29% last week.
Advanced Micro Devices rose 3% after announcing an expanded partnership where Microsoft will use its products for AI, including its new Helios product starting in the second half of the year.
Such stocks have been under pressure for weeks on worries that their prices shot too high in the euphoria around AI. On one hand, companies are making billions of dollars in revenue as customers pour money into AI chips and data centers. But all that spending may fizzle out if AI doesn’t produce as much profit and productivity as promised.
Wall Street may get some hints on that soon as some of the biggest spenders on AI report their latest quarterly results. On Wednesday, Alphabet will tell investors how much it made during the spring and give updates on its AI efforts.
All kinds of companies are under pressure to report strong growth in profit for the spring. They will need to in order to justify the big moves their stock prices have made. Indexes are near their records, even with the recent shakiness for AI stocks.
AMC Entertainment rose 10.6% after the movie-theater operator reported stronger revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also said that some of its theaters in Los Angeles and other cities ran “The Odyssey” for more than 85 straight hours from Thursday through Sunday to meet demand.
Domino’s Pizza climbed 3.1% after delivering stronger revenue for the spring than expected. CEO Russell Weiner said the company saw growth in orders for both its carryout and delivery businesses, even with the broad industry continuing “to face pressure on consumer demand.”
Much of that pressure is coming from still-high inflation, thanks in large part to high gasoline prices. Inflation last month was not as bad as economists expected, but it could be set to reaccelerate if oil prices keep rising.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil had dropped below $72 early this month, roughly back to where it was before the war with Iran began. But it’s been jumping as fighting continues in the Middle East.
On Monday, the price swung between roughly $86 and $91. It was most recently at $88.17, up 0.1%.
Worries about expensive oil and high inflation have sent Treasury yields higher in the bond market, which threaten to slow the economy and undercut prices for stocks and other investments.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.58% from 4.55% late Friday and from just 3.97% before the war with Iran. Higher yields have already sent the average 30-year mortgage rate to its highest level in nearly a year.
In stock markets abroad, indexes ticked lower in Europe.
The moves were sharper in Asia, where South Korea’s Kospi fell 4.5%. It’s been at the center of the huge swings for AI stocks because it’s dominated by two tech companies, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
Leveraged ETF Liquidation Spirals: South Korean retail investors poured billions into index-linked and single-stock leveraged ETFs. Falling markets mechanically force these leveraged funds to offload shares, creating an uncontrollable downward selling feedback loop.
