US-originated semiconductor shock and earnings disappointment overlap, causing both major indices to plummet 5-6%
SK Hynix posts Q2 operating profit of W60T, but shares tumble over 9% as results fall 5% short of market expectations
Individual investors stage 'exodus' with W1.84T in net selling; institutions and foreigners fall short in defending the index
The domestic stock market experienced a sharp downturn driven by semiconductor bad news originating from the US and disappointment over major corporate earnings. Investor sentiment rapidly froze as sell sidecars (temporary suspension of program sell orders) were concurrently triggered in both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets.
As of 11:26 AM on the 29th, the KOSPI index stood at 5,684.89, plunging 338.77 points (5.62%) from the previous trading day. The index, which started strong by breaking the 6,200 line in early trading, even collapsed past the 5,700 mark as a massive wave of panic selling by retail investors poured in. Earlier at 10:55 AM, the KOSPI 200 futures index plummeted 5.15%, triggering a sell sidecar on the main bourse.
The shock to the KOSDAQ market was even greater. At the same time, the KOSDAQ index hovered at 663.21, down 42.64 points (6.04%) from the previous session. The KOSDAQ also triggered a sell sidecar at 10:56 AM as the KOSDAQ 150 futures index nosedived 6.21%.
This plunge was overwhelmingly driven by retail investors. In the main bourse, individuals net sold 1.8401 trillion won, rapidly exiting the market. While institutions (1.4362 trillion won) and foreigners (463 billion won) absorbed the volume, it proved insufficient to halt the index's decline.
Major semiconductor stocks dragging down their performance are cited as the primary cause of the market collapse. Notably, SK Hynix announced record-high second-quarter consolidated figures with revenue of 79.3187 trillion won and an operating profit of 60.5426 trillion won, yet its stock price plummeted 9.35% down to 1.405 million won. Although operating profit surged 557% compared to the same period last year, it fell about 5% short of the brokerage consensus (63.5 trillion won), failing to satisfy heightened market expectations.
Additionally, global semiconductor stocks plunged across the board in the previous day's US market due to China-related bad news and concerns over artificial intelligence (AI) profitability, further fueling the exodus of domestic investors. Semiconductor and related group stocks across the board, including Samsung Electronics (-4.55%), Samsung Square (-9.73%), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (-8.26%), and SK (-9.61%), failed to escape broad weakness.