South Korea halts Kospi trading after an 8% drop
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix led the slide, and the U.S. fund that holds them still shows Wednesday's close.
Key takeaways
South Korea halted trading in both of its main stock markets on Thursday, Oct. 15, after each fell 8% from Wednesday's close, the drop that triggers a market-wide pause.
The Kosdaq, the market for smaller companies, stopped at 12:23 p.m. in Seoul, at 757.88, down 8.01%. The Kospi, the benchmark, followed at 12:38 p.m., at 5,528.05, down 8%. That was 11:38 p.m. Wednesday in New York.
The Korea Exchange, South Korea's market operator, stops a market once its index has stayed down at least 8% for a minute. Trading and new orders pause for 20 minutes, and a 10-minute auction then sets a single reopening price. A second halt is set for a fall of 15%. Thursday was the first day since July 29, 2026, that both markets hit that 8% halt.
As of 1:56 a.m. Eastern time Thursday, with the Seoul session still open, the Kospi was last quoted at 5,459.99, down 9.1% from Wednesday's close of 6,008.81. It had opened down 5.6%.
The Kospi is still up 30% in 2026, and it is down 22% from its Oct. 2 close of 7,003.74. It fell in each of the six sessions before Thursday.
The Kospi fell in every session after Oct. 2
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix led the fall. As of 1:37 a.m. Eastern time Thursday, Samsung was down 11.2% and SK hynix was down 11.8%.
The U.S. fund still shows Wednesday's close
The iShares MSCI South Korea ETF, ETF:EWY, held 22.8% of its assets in Samsung Electronics and 22.7% in SK hynix as of Wednesday, together 45.5%.
Samsung and SK hynix tower over the rest of EWY
ETF:EWY's last regular-session trade was Wednesday's close at $159.83, down 4% that day and 13% over five sessions. Seoul had finished Wednesday hours earlier, and Thursday's session there had not started.
After the New York close, ETF:EWY was quoted at a bid of $155.14 and an ask of $155.78 as of 7:59 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday. The midpoint was 2.7% below the $159.83 close.
That quote was just before 9 a.m. in Seoul, as Thursday's session was opening, hours before the 12:38 p.m. halt. The regular session in New York has not traded the drop that stopped the Kospi.
The break followed Wednesday's inflation report in the United States. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said consumer prices rose 3.7% in the year through September, up from 3.4% through August. The Chosun Ilbo reported Thursday that the reading topped a market expectation of 3.6% and raised the likelihood of a U.S. benchmark interest rate hike.
"Inflation pressure came in higher than anticipated, fueling concerns about further benchmark interest rate hikes," Kim Rok-ho, a researcher at South Korea's Hana Securities, said in a Herald Business report on Thursday.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 4.3% on Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.9%, and the S&P 500 fell 1.1%.
A further increase by the Federal Reserve, the risk the Chosun Ilbo flagged, would raise borrowing costs for the companies building artificial-intelligence data centers. Those firms buy the memory chips Samsung and SK hynix sell. The Herald Business said Thursday that chip shares were being sold on those borrowing costs, on the inflation reading, and on doubts about the operators' profitability.
Frequently asked questions
Did both of South Korea's main markets halt?
Yes, the Kosdaq stopped at 12:23 p.m. in Seoul, down 8.01%, and the Kospi followed at 12:38 p.m., down 8%.
Did the Kospi keep falling after the halt?
As of 1:56 a.m. Eastern time Thursday, the Kospi was last quoted down 9.1% from Wednesday's close.
Has the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF traded Thursday's drop?
Its last regular-session trade was Wednesday's close at $159.83, and New York has not traded the drop that stopped the Kospi.
What set off the selloff?
U.S. consumer prices rose 3.7% through September, topping a 3.6% expectation and raising the likelihood of a benchmark rate hike.
