South Korean equities cratered on June 5, pulling emerging market assets into their third consecutive day of losses. The KOSPI index closed down 5.54% at 8,161, its steepest single-session decline in recent memory, as foreign investors dumped shares and semiconductor stocks bore the brunt of a brutal selloff.
The session was ugly enough to earn the label “Black Friday” among Korean market participants. Circuit breakers were triggered in related futures trading as intraday losses spiraled.
What triggered the rout
The proximate cause was disappointing results from Broadcom in the US, which sent shockwaves through the semiconductor supply chain. In South Korea, that translated into a punishing day for the country’s two most important chipmakers.
Samsung Electronics fell over 6%. SK Hynix declined nearly 10%.
