Lee Yeon-woo is a financial journalist at The Korea Times. Her wide range of reporting includes policies, macroeconomics, stock market, companies and even crypto. She is passionate about connecting the dots in Korean finance and making it easier for foreign nationals to understand. Based on her previous experience as a national reporter, she also has a keen interest in social issues within the sector, including gender equality and ESG. Your tips and insights are always appreciated. You can send them to yanu@koreatimes.co.kr.
KOSPI tumbles as Samsung's record earnings fail to lift market
The KOSPI and Kosdaq indexes are displayed in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, Tuesday. The benchmark KOSPI closed at 7,656.31, down 4.91 percent from the previous session, while the secondary Kosdaq closed at 831.23, down 1.87 percent. Yonhap
By Lee Yeon-woo
Korean stocks tumbled Tuesday, with the benchmark index sliding below 8,000, as investors sold off shares despite another record earnings report from Samsung Electronics.
According to the Korea Exchange, KOSPI closed at 7,656.31, down 4.91 percent from the previous session. Sell-the-news pressure weighed on the market after Samsung Electronics reported record preliminary earnings earlier in the day.
The benchmark index plunged in the morning trading, triggering a sell-side sidecar for the 16th time this year. Losses deepened in the afternoon, setting off a circuit breaker — the sixth this year and the 12th in the index's history.
Foreign investors led the sell-off, unloading 2.93 trillion won ($1.92 billion) worth of semiconductor, substrate, shipbuilding and defense shares. Institutional investors net sold 391 billion won, while retail investors bought a net 3.13 trillion won of shares.
Chip stocks fell sharply on concerns that the semiconductor cycle may have peaked. Samsung Electronics dropped 6.92 percent, SK hynix lost 6.06 percent, SK Square slid 9.3 percent and Hanmi Semiconductor declined 7.06 percent.
Samsung Electronics said preliminary second-quarter consolidated revenue reached 171 trillion won, with operating profit at 89.4 trillion won.
Shipbuilders also retreated. Hanwha Ocean plunged 22.65 percent after failing to secure Canada's submarine contract, while weaker investor sentiment weighed on HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries, which fell 5.32 percent and 5.27 percent, respectively.
Consumer staples outperformed. Samyang Foods jumped 11.29 percent, while Nongshim and KT&G advanced 2.7 percent and 6.26 percent, respectively.
Kiwoom Securities analyst Han Ji-young said Tuesday's decline was "irrational and excessive."
"For the market’s upward trajectory to break, concerns that earnings have peaked would likely need to become much more immediate," Han said. "Yet the expected earnings step-up in the third and fourth quarters appears more significant than the second-quarter earnings level, including Samsung Electronics' preliminary results and broader KOSPI earnings."
The secondary Kosdaq closed at 831.23, down 1.87 percent from the previous session. It fell as low as 812.70 during the session, setting fresh year-to-date intraday and closing lows.
The won-dollar exchange rate closed the daytime session at 1,528.2 won, down 2.1 won from the previous trading day.