Kospi Enters Bear Market After 20% Slide as AI Chip Doubts Hit Samsung
Updated
Updated · The Economic Times · Jul 8
Kospi Enters Bear Market After 20% Slide as AI Chip Doubts Hit Samsung
3 articles · Updated · The Economic Times · Jul 8
Summary
South Korea’s Kospi entered a bear market after falling 20% from its peak, with the selloff deepening after Samsung’s nearly 10% plunge in the previous session.
Samsung slipped nearly 4% on Wednesday even after forecasting a 19-fold jump in second-quarter operating profit, as investors questioned whether the AI-driven chip boom can last.
Foreign investors added pressure by selling a net 471.7 billion won ($311.68 million) of South Korean shares, while LG Energy Solution fell 4% and SK Hynix rose 1%.
The drop comes despite record memory-chip prices and a 74% gain for the Kospi so far in 2026, still making it the world’s best-performing major stock index.
Goldman Sachs remained bullish, saying foreign money is already rotating from chip leaders into other AI-linked and industrial stocks as earnings momentum broadens.