Domestic stock market plunges for two consecutive days, circuit breakers triggered for the second day in a row

The domestic stock market fell sharply on the 29th, extending its steep decline for a second straight day. Circuit breakers were triggered for both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ for the second day in a row, the first time this has ever happened since the launch of the Korean stock market. On this day, the KOSPI closed at 5,663.24, down 5.98% from the previous trading day, while the KOSDAQ ended trading at 662.68, down 6.12%. The KOSPI fell below the 6,000 mark in just one day, and the KOSDAQ also dropped below 700. Over the two days, the KOSPI lost about 1,000 points, and its monthly decline reached a level larger than during the foreign exchange crisis and the global financial crisis. The decline was led by major semiconductor stocks. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix saw their share prices fall sharply, and sellside sidecars and circuit breakers were triggered one after another in the market. The securities industry attributed the fall to concerns over slowing earnings, intensifying competition with Chinese companies, and geopolitical instability in the Middle East, but analyzed that above all, investor sentiment had rapidly weakened, leading to an expansion of panic selling.