The downturn extended beyond chipmakers into the broader AI infrastructure trade, with stocks such as Eugene Technology falling 16.5% on concerns over AI capex returns. South Korea's financial regulator held emergency meetings to stabilize the market, while President Lee Jae-myung issued public appeals for suicide prevention following the crash. While Japan's Nikkei surged 2% on Friday to add $150B in market value as Wall Street rebounded, Nasdaq 100 futures edged lower on persistent concerns regarding debt risks at CoreWeave.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
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KOSPI Ends Week Down 14.5% in Worst Performance Since October 2008
Global Markets5 days ago
Asian equity markets saw a partial recovery on Friday, though semiconductor stocks remained volatile following a historic rout in South Korea. The KOSPI index ended the week down 14.5%, its steepest weekly decline since the 2008 financial crisis, and now sits roughly 40% below its June highs. This collapse was highlighted by a Thursday crash of over 8%, which triggered circuit breakers for both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ and halted trading for 20 minutes. Samsung and SK Hynix led the losses as foreign investors sold $3.6B in equities amid fears of a memory chip oversupply by 2028 and a US September CPI print of 3.7% that increased the likelihood of Fed rate hikes.
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