KOSPI erases early chip slump to end 0.3% higher

Seoul’s KOSPI wiped out a steep morning loss on Friday, Oct 23, and finished 0.3% higher at 5,550.30. Chip shares had dragged the market down hard at the start of trading.

The index opened 2.36% lower, The Korea Herald reported. By 9:15 a.m. KST it had shed 156.6 points, or 2.83%, to 5,377.17, according to The Korea Herald. Korea Times said selling in the biggest chipmakers drove the decline, which it described as profit-taking. The index was still well down late in the morning, Korea Times reported.

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A 6.72% fall in US chip stocks hit the open

The Korea Herald, Korea Times and Bloomberg all linked the early slide to overnight losses in US AI and semiconductor shares. The PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX), a gauge of US-listed chip stocks, dropped 6.72% on Oct 22 to 10,731.98.

The damage on Wall Street was concentrated in large tech names. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.02% on a mixed day, The Korea Herald reported. Higher oil prices also unsettled investors in Seoul at the open, according to The Korea Herald and Bloomberg.

Seoul closed up while Tokyo slipped

The recovery left Korea’s main index in positive territory by the close. Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 ended Oct 23 down 0.34% at 62,693.16.

For investors abroad, the day showed how quickly a US chip sell-off can reach Seoul’s open, and how it can fade within one session. Two chipmakers carry heavy weight in the KOSPI, which is one reason the index swings so sharply on chip news.

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Information only, not investment advice.