Seoul gives back its morning rally: KOSPI down 1% as SK hynix falls 3%
The KOSPI opened 2.05% higher and topped 5,504.44, then reversed to close at 5,290.53, down 0.98%, its second straight decline, as foreign investors sold a net ₩550.5 billion and SK hynix fell 3.03% to ₩1,216,000 while Samsung slipped 0.96% to ₩206,000.
The News
The KOSPI closed at 5,290.53 on Friday, down 52.20 points or 0.98%, its second straight daily decline after Thursday's 0.61% drop — but the shape of the session is the story. The index opened 2.05% higher and touched 5,504.44 in the morning as investors were initially relieved by the swift Nvidia CEO replacement, then reversed in the afternoon as foreign investors switched to net selling — ₩550.5 billion, about $411.9 million (at the ₩1,336.7-per-dollar close rate) — and chip shares fell on uncertainty over the Nvidia leadership shake-up's impact on the AI ecosystem.
SK hynix sank 3.03% to ₩1,216,000 and Samsung Electronics lost 0.96% to ₩206,000, after both had risen 3–4% early in the session. The KOSDAQ edged up 0.45% to 699.66. Samsung Electro-Mechanics tumbled 3.5% to ₩855,000, and Naver — where Nvidia is the third-largest shareholder — slumped 5.12% to ₩172,500.
President Lee Jae-myung visited the Korea Exchange during the session and pledged to normalise the capital market; the index fell anyway. The visit was a public show of support for the market on a day when the market had other things on its mind: the morning's relief about Nvidia's leadership change gave way to afternoon worry about what that change means for the AI ecosystem that Seoul's chipmakers supply.
Seoul cheered the morning, then sold the afternoon — the Nvidia question is still open.
Why It Matters
The KOSPI is South Korea's main stock index — a basket of the country's biggest listed companies — so a 0.98% fall means the market as a whole lost value on the day. But the number alone hides the drama: the index opened 2.05% higher and climbed to 5,504.44 before turning around and closing lower. That kind of round trip means two different moods in one session — morning buyers betting the Nvidia news was settled, afternoon sellers deciding it was not.
Foreign investors were the sellers that mattered. Net selling of ₩550.5 billion means overseas investors sold that much more Korean stock than they bought on the day, reversing their morning purchases. When big foreign funds turn sellers in Seoul, prices move, because they are among the largest holders of Korean chip stocks — and on Friday they were selling the very shares, SK hynix and Samsung, that had led the morning rally.
The link to Nvidia is the AI supply chain. SK hynix and Samsung make the high-bandwidth memory that Nvidia's AI systems depend on, so a leadership shake-up at their biggest customer raises a simple question: does anything change for the orders, the prices and the technology roadmap? Nobody has an answer yet, and markets hate unanswered questions — which is why both stocks gave up early gains of 3–4% and finished the day lower.
The KOSDAQ's 0.45% rise to 699.66 is the counterpoint. The KOSDAQ tracks smaller, growth-focused Korean companies, and it rose on institutional buying even as the big-chip KOSPI fell — a reminder that Friday was a chip story, not a Korea story. President Lee's visit to the exchange, with a pledge to normalise the capital market, was meant to steady nerves; the market fell anyway, which says the Nvidia question mattered more to traders than the presidential visit.
Analyst's Take
Our call is Mixed. The morning rally shows the market wanted to move on from the Nvidia news, and the KOSDAQ's gain shows the selling was concentrated in chips rather than across Korea. But the afternoon reversal — foreign investors selling ₩550.5 billion and SK hynix down 3.03% — shows the worry is not settled. A market that opens up 2% and closes down 1% is a market that has not made up its mind.
What to watch: whether foreign selling continues into the next session, whether SK hynix and Samsung stabilise or extend their declines, and Nvidia's own results on Tuesday, November 17, which will give Seoul its first hard numbers on the business since the resignation. If Nvidia's numbers hold up, the Seoul chip sell-off may look like an overreaction; if they do not, Friday's reversal was the early warning.
Are you bullish or bearish on this story?
By The Numbers
FAQ
Why did the KOSPI fall after opening higher?
Investors were initially relieved by the swift Nvidia CEO replacement and pushed the index 2.05% higher to 5,504.44 in the morning. In the afternoon, foreign investors switched to net selling and chip shares fell on uncertainty over the Nvidia shake-up's impact on the AI ecosystem, dragging the index to a 0.98% loss.
What does net selling by foreign investors mean?
It means overseas investors sold more Korean shares than they bought that day — in this case a net ₩550.5 billion, about $411.9 million. Foreign funds are large holders of Korean chip stocks, so when they turn sellers, prices tend to move.
Why does Nvidia's chief executive matter to Korean chip stocks?
SK hynix and Samsung make the high-bandwidth memory that Nvidia's AI systems depend on, so a leadership shake-up at their biggest customer raises questions about orders, prices and the technology roadmap. The research describes the trigger as caution over the resignation's impact on the AI ecosystem.
What is the KOSDAQ, and why did it rise?
The KOSDAQ is South Korea's index for smaller, growth-focused companies, while the KOSPI tracks the biggest listed firms. It edged up 0.45% to 699.66 on institutional buying, which shows Friday's selling was concentrated in the big chip stocks rather than across the whole Korean market.
What did President Lee do during the session?
President Lee Jae-myung visited the Korea Exchange during the session and pledged to normalise the capital market. The index fell anyway, which suggests traders were focused on the Nvidia question rather than the presidential visit.
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Source: K-VIBE (Yonhap)