South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI index tumbled on Monday as a profit-taking wave hit semiconductor stocks, reversing part of the recent rally that made the market Asia’s top performer in the first half of 2026. The index fell over 2% in early trading and closed down 0.5%, dragged lower by sharp declines in chip heavyweights SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics.
The selloff mirrored a broader tech rout across Asian markets. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid over 1.5%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped nearly 1.8%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 edged 0.6% lower. The pullback was triggered by last week’s losses on Wall Street, where rising bond yields and hawkish Federal Reserve signals prompted investors to reassess high-valuation growth stocks. Foreign investors were net sellers of Korean shares, offloading 828.8 billion won on the day, and the won weakened 0.3% against the dollar.
SK Hynix fell more than 4% and Samsung Electronics slipped about 1.5%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution lost nearly 4%. However, Foxconn bucked the trend with a 0.6% gain on record AI-server-driven revenue, while TSMC also edged higher.
Despite the dip, Goldman Sachs reaffirmed its bullish stance on South Korean equities. The investment bank sees more than 20% upside for the KOSPI over the next 12 months, with a target of 12,000. It expects the rally to broaden beyond AI chip stocks into energy, materials, and industrials, noting that foreign inflows are already rotating toward other AI-related sectors. Goldman forecasts earnings growth of 320% in 2026 and another 35% in 2027, adding that retail investors are not overexposed and Korean households remain heavily weighted toward real estate and overseas equities.
Meanwhile, SK Hynix is preparing a $29 billion listing of American depositary receipts on the Nasdaq. Bank of America downplayed the tech pullback, calling it a positioning reset rather than a change in fundamentals, and argued that AI infrastructure spending remains intact even as investors grow more selective.
Lower oil prices—buoyed by OPEC+’s agreement to increase August production—supported gains in Hong Kong, Indonesia, and India. Investors now await Fed meeting minutes and inflation data from China, Taiwan, Thailand, and the Philippines for further direction.
