South Korea stocks hit 9-month low as US midterm results spark AI selloff

South Korea’s KOSPI plunged more than 8% in early Friday trading, reaching 4,911.28, its lowest level since February 6, before recovering some ground. Business Recorder reported that the drop followed Democratic gains in the US midterm elections, which unsettled investors over future artificial-intelligence and data-centre investment; trading was briefly halted by a circuit breaker.

By 0230 GMT, the index was down 3.9% at 5,174.84. Foreign investors sold 1.1 trillion won of local shares, while retail and institutional buyers purchased 130 billion won and 780 billion won respectively; Samsung Electronics fell 3.23% and SK Hynix lost 5.30%. South Korea’s finance minister also convened an emergency meeting, where officials agreed to temporarily relax rules governing leveraged investments by retail investors. The KOSPI has fallen 43% from its June peak but remains 23% higher for the year.