Breaking

KOSPI Enters Bear Market on 20% Slide as AI Chip Stocks Tumble

July 8, 2026 at 04:46 EDT

Infra & Chips
Finance

South Korea's KOSPI index has fallen more than 20% from its record high in June 2026, entering a technical bear market. The slide was driven mainly by sharp drops in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the two AI chip giants that together account for roughly half the index, as doubts grew over the durability of generative-AI demand.

July 7–8, 2026 · Seoul Markets

KOSPI Crashes Into a Bear Market as AI Chip Euphoria Snaps

South Korea's benchmark index fell more than 20% from its June record high, driven by double-digit intraday drops in memory chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix as doubts over AI demand rippled across global tech.

−20%+

From June record high — into bear-market territory

−10%+

Intraday drop in Samsung & SK Hynix shares

−25%+

Single-day loss in some leveraged ETFs

The rise vs. the reckoning

KOSPI's ~80% year-to-date surge, powered by AI memory demand — then a 20%+ correction.

+80%

Year-to-date surge

−20%

The correction

The Samsung paradox

Samsung forecast a record 19× year-on-year jump in Q2 operating profit — yet its shares fell. Expectations were already priced in, and doubts over whether such earnings can last prevailed.

Prior yr

1×

Q2 forecast

19× (est.)

Just noise

"There is no problem with the fundamentals of the AI and chip sectors; it is just profit-taking and noise repeating."

"The story is not over yet — this is just a correction within an uptrend."

Stay cautious

"The results are good, but market expectations are too high, and there is concern over whether high earnings are sustainable."

What fed the fall

Priced-in optimism

Profit-taking after a huge run-up

Leveraged ETFs

Magnified moves; circuit breakers & sidecars triggered

Global tech slide

Nvidia, Micron, Taiwan & Japan chips also softened

DeepSeek chip

In-house AI inference chip clouds demand outlook

Continue reading

The rest of this article is for AI News Blitz readers. Choose an option below to keep reading.