Asian markets today: South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index plunged 8.5% in early trading on Friday, November 6, tracking a sharp sell-off in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor stocks on Wall Street overnight. Trading on the Korea Exchange was suspended for 20 minutes after the index triggered its first 8% circuit breaker shortly after the market opened.
The steep decline dragged the KOSPI below the 5,000 mark, falling short of the target set by President Lee Jae Myung during his presidential campaign in 2025. The benchmark dropped as much as 8.8% before paring some losses.
The sell-off followed a global market rout on Thursday, which saw the Nasdaq 100 tumble 6.4%, wiping out a record $2.3 trillion in market capitalisation. South Korean equities bore the brunt of the global AI-related sell-off, given the country's heavy dependence on its two semiconductor giants.
The KOSPI had earlier surged past 9,000 in the summer, fuelled by the AI boom and strong gains in chipmakers, making South Korea one of the world's best-performing equity markets. However, concerns over a potential slowdown in AI infrastructure spending, alongside fears that the Democratic Party's sweep of the US Congress could constrain the AI expansion, have triggered a sharp reversal in sentiment.
Meanwhile, South Korean semiconductor stocks witnessed heavy selling pressure. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix plunged more than 11% each in early Friday trade before recovering some of their losses.