KOSPI Gives Up 5,300 as Foreign Selling Wipes Out Morning Rally

The KOSPI fell 0.98% to 5,290.53 on the 13th, surrendering the 5,300 line after an intraday rally above 5,500 collapsed under foreign selling. The Korea Exchange reported the reversal. Chip stocks that had led the morning advance finished lower.

The index opened at 5,452.41, up 2.05%, and reclaimed the 5,500 level during the session. It turned lower in the afternoon. On the main board, foreign investors sold a net 703.4 billion won and institutions sold a net 22.1 billion won. Retail investors bought a net 180.2 billion won, absorbing only part of that outflow.

Why did the chip rally fail?

Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) closed at 206,000 won, down 0.96%. SK hynix (000660.KS) ended at 1.216 million won, down 3.03%. Both stocks had gained more than 3% in the morning before the afternoon selloff erased the advance. The reversal tracks overnight weakness in Nvidia (the US AI-chip maker whose suppliers include Korean memory firms), whose chief executive Jensen Huang's departure rattled Wall Street.

Nvidia tumbled more than 14% intraday before closing down 4.34%. Its market capitalization fell below $4 trillion during the session for the first time since July last year. Other AI-related names also declined. Super Micro Computer lost 11.30%. CoreWeave fell 6.86%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (a benchmark for US chip stocks) slipped 0.54%.

The Korean supply chain felt the impact directly:

• SK Square (402340.KS): down 3.67%
• Samsung Electro-Mechanics (009150.KS): down 3.50%
• Samsung Biologics (207940.KS): down 2.62%
• LG Energy Solution (373220.KS): down 1.52%

Not every large-cap followed the market down. KB Financial Group (105560.KS) rose 4.74%. Samsung Electronics preferred shares (005935.KS) gained 1.31%. Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) added 1.13%. The divergence suggests rotation into financials and autos rather than broad risk aversion.

What happened on the KOSDAQ?

The KOSDAQ closed at 699.66, up 0.45%, after surrendering most of its intraday gains. It opened at 705.96, up 1.35%, and rose above 720 during the session before falling back below 700 in the afternoon. Institutions bought a net 127.1 billion won on the tech-heavy board. Retail investors sold a net 74.1 billion won. Foreign investors sold a net 61.4 billion won.

The pattern mirrors the main board: strong opens, weak closes, and foreign capital leaving. One session does not establish a trend. But a 703.4 billion won net sale is not noise, and the failure to hold 5,300 after touching 5,500 marks a swing of more than 200 points between intraday high and close.

What did the president say?

President Lee Jae-myung addressed a policy meeting on capital markets at the Korea Exchange in Yeouido that morning. "Normalizing the capital market is this government's firm policy direction and will," Lee said, pledging to help the domestic stock market find its proper footing. "Overcoming this abnormality is this government's top priority," he added.

The president offered no specific measures at the meeting, according to the statement. The market's afternoon reversal occurred hours after his remarks. Whatever reform package follows, Tuesday's session shows the Seoul market still trades on Nvidia's fortunes, not on policy declarations. That dependency remains the unaddressed variable in the government's market normalization agenda.