It was a day of fear in the markets. Concerns over U.S. tightening, a sharp drop in semiconductor stocks, and a surge in exchange rates combined to hit the domestic financial market hard, marking a "Black Monday." The KOSPI index fell below 8000 during trading and closed around 7400, while the won-dollar exchange rate reached its highest level in 17 years and three months.
According to the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI opened at 8048.09, down 112.50 points (1.38%) from the previous trading day, and fell below 7500 during the session. It closed at 7484.41, down 676.18 points (8.29%). The total market capitalization of the KOSPI dropped by nearly 548 trillion won, from 6136 trillion won to 6686 trillion won in just one day.
The KOSDAQ index also saw a significant decline, closing at 911.39, down 91.05 points (9.08%) from the previous day. The sharp drop triggered circuit breakers and temporary halts on sell orders in both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both lost key price levels, with Samsung closing at 295,500 won, down 10.18%, and SK Hynix at 1,911,000 won, down 7.68%.
The domestic stock market was hit hard by dual negative factors: concerns over U.S. tightening and the plunge in semiconductor stocks. U.S. non-farm payrolls for May exceeded market expectations, dampening hopes for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut. Additionally, shares of Nvidia and Micron, along with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX), plummeted, quickly eroding investor sentiment.
Foreign investors continued to sell off stocks in large volumes, increasing downward pressure on the won. The won-dollar exchange rate surged past 1555 won during trading, reaching its highest level since the global financial crisis. In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar rate opened at 1555.2 won, up 16.1 won from the previous trading day's closing rate of 1539.1 won. This marks the highest level based on the opening price since March 6, 2009, during the global financial crisis (1590 won). Although the won-dollar exchange rate closed at 1535.0 won, down 4.1 won from the previous day, it briefly spiked to the highest level since the financial crisis, reflecting the market's anxiety.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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