KOSPI closes 6.02% lower at 5,059.69 after circuit breaker
Published on 11/06/2026 at 18:46 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWSKOSPI ends session under heavy pressure
- The KOSPI closed at 5,059.69 on November 6, down 6.02 percent after a highly volatile session.
- Trading was halted for 20 minutes after the index fell more than 8 percent shortly after the open.
- AI investment concerns, chip-stock losses and heavy foreign selling drove the broad market decline.
South Korea's benchmark KOSPI ended Friday's session at 5,059.69, down 324.11 points or 6.02 percent, according to Yonhap News Agency. The close followed a second consecutive session of steep losses and left the index well above its intraday low but still under heavy pressure.
Trading halt followed early sell-off
The KOSPI fell more than 8 percent soon after the open, prompting the Korea Exchange to suspend KOSPI stock trading for 20 minutes from 9:03 a.m. local time. The index later recovered part of the initial decline, but selling intensified again toward the close. It reached an intraday low of 4,911.28, according to Yonhap.
The session also showed unusually weak breadth. Losers outnumbered winners 757 to 131, while trading volume reached 297 million shares worth 27.5 trillion Korean won. Foreign investors were net sellers of 2.77 trillion won, whereas retail investors and institutions were net buyers on a combined basis.
AI concerns hit semiconductor leaders
The sell-off was led by technology and semiconductor shares after an overnight decline on Wall Street. Investors were concerned that Democratic control of both chambers of the US Congress could slow the construction of artificial-intelligence data centers, particularly in states that are important locations for new projects. The Korea Herald reported that the concerns extended across the AI supply chain and pushed the KOSPI below 5,000 during the session.
Samsung Electronics fell 6.35 percent to 188,700 won, while SK hynix dropped 10.44 percent to 1.132 million won, Yonhap reported. The losses in the two heavyweight chipmakers were especially significant for the index because they represent a large share of its market capitalization. The Korean won also weakened to 1,356.6 won per US dollar at 3:30 p.m., down 14.5 won from the previous trading session.
Volatility remains the main market risk
Market analysts cited by Yonhap said the reaction to possible restrictions on AI data-center investment could be excessive, while also warning that volatility may remain elevated. The KOSPI 200 volatility index rose to 64.74, a three-month high, according to the Korea Exchange. That leaves the market sensitive to further changes in expectations for AI spending, semiconductor demand and global technology shares.
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