Tuesday South Korean equities plunged as profit-taking in chip leaders
accelerated. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell more than 5%. KOSDAQ and
KOSPI triggered circuit breakers, suspending automated trading for five minutes.
Foreign investors were net sellers of over 2 trillion won of KOSPI stocks in the
morning session (about $1.3bn), while retail investors bought the dip. Huh
Seok-geun, CIO at Eugene Asset Management in Seoul, said the sell-off appears
driven mainly by profit-taking after recent sharp gains and that high retail
leverage and elevated margin balances could amplify declines and increase
sensitivity to negative catalysts.
