KOSPI · August 19, 2026

The morning after New York sold chips

-5.80%

single-day change vs previous close

What happened that day?

The KOSPI fell 5.8% to close at 6,471.17, with a sidecar triggered during the session
It started in New York the session before. Memory-chip names were hit hard, and the move carried straight into Asia the next morning
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both dropped. A large share of the KOSPI sits in those two names, so when they move the index moves with them
Behind it were rising government bond yields. When yields go up, the shares priced on distant future profits get marked down first
Renewed Middle East tension and a firmer oil price added to it. If inflation picks up again, rate cuts get harder
Tokyo fell the same day. The two markets were moving together on chips through this stretch
The fall lasted one day. The index recovered almost all of it in the next session

Sources

KOSPI

Every figure on this page is recomputed from the original daily closing prices and checked against them at build time. The account of what happened is put together from the public record; where a specific source was consulted it is listed above.