The KOSPI index of the Seoul Stock Exchange closed this Monday with a drop of 8.29%, thus prolonging the strong sales that the technology sector already suffered last Friday on Wall Street. It is the worst session on the South Korean market since March and required the temporary suspension of trading.
The collapse of the main South Korean indicator activated the automatic trading interruption mechanism for the third time in 2026, which implied a 20-minute pause in operations.
The punishment of the selective index was motivated by the marked falls of large technology stocks, including Samsung (-10.18%) and SK Hynix (-7.68%). Automobile manufacturers Hyundai (-8.71%) and KIA (-6.02%) also suffered significant declines.
Last March 4, the KOSPI registered its largest drop in history, with a retreat of 12.06%, in the midst of the crisis in the Middle East following the attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which drove up oil and gas prices.
Despite that collapse and the one experienced this Monday, the KOSPI has accumulated an appreciation of more than 70% so far this year.
In parallel, the Nikkei selective index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange concluded Monday's session with a decrease of 3.85%, although it managed to maintain the level of 64,000 points. Since January, the Tokyo index still adds more than 23%.
The punishment of Asian stock markets continues the collapse experienced on Wall Street last Friday, caused mainly by corrections in some of the large technology stocks.
Thus, the Nasdaq ended the last session with a fall of 4.18%, while the Dow Jones retreated 1.35%. Among the most penalized stocks on Friday were Nvidia (-6.20%), AMD (-10.86%), Intel (-11.28%), and Broadcom (-7.92%).
The strong sales in Asian markets after Friday's setback in New York highlight investors' reaction to better-than-expected employment data in the United States, which, along with persistent inflation, could move away a scenario of interest rate cuts in the world's largest economy, even despite the change in the presidency of the Federal Reserve.