Japanese and South Korean stock markets closed lower, with South Korean stocks triggering a second circuit breaker during trading.
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Japanese and South Korean stocks closed lower, with South Korean stocks falling more than 5%.
According to Gate data, the Nikkei 225 Odaily closed down 1437.91 points, or 2.11%, at 66819.05 on Wednesday, July 8. The South Korean KOSPI index closed down 409.53 points, or 5.35%, at 7246.78 on Wednesday, July 8. The index briefly triggered a temporary trading halt during the session and has now fallen about 20% from its June high, approaching a technical bear market.
South Korean stocks plunge 20%, nearing a bear market; the AI boom faces the awkward situation of "the more disastrous the earnings, the steeper the decline."
According to BlockBeats, on Wednesday afternoon, July 8th, South Korean stocks extended their losses as investors reassessed the outlook for AI demand. The KOSPI index fell by more than 6% at one point, breaking below 7200 points, and has cumulatively fallen by more than 20% from its all-time high last month, poised to enter technical bear market territory. Memory chip maker SK Hynix fell by as much as 5%, and Samsung Electronics fell by 6.9%. The Korea Exchange initiated a temporary trading halt on the KOSPI index, suspending algorithmic trading. South Korean stocks were among the strongest performing markets globally this year, but their performance is highly dependent on SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, amplifying volatility when sector sentiment weakens. Even with Samsung Electronics announcing a 19-fold surge in quarterly profits earlier this week, chip stocks continued to be under pressure. Jordan Klein, a TMT sector expert at Mizuho Securities, stated that investors overreacted to Samsung's preliminary second-quarter results. He believes this sell-off in semiconductor stocks is more a sign of waning momentum than a deterioration in fundamentals. Klein stated that excluding one-off bonus expenses, Samsung's operating profit actually significantly exceeded expectations, with its storage business implied operating margin potentially exceeding 80%. He indicated that Samsung's single-quarter operating profit has already surpassed the total of the past three years, and reacting to Samsung's stock price based solely on preliminary results is "extremely short-sighted." Meanwhile, an AI trading rotation occurred in Asian markets. Hong Kong-listed Chinese stocks rose, with the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rising as much as 3.4%, the Hang Seng Tech Index rising over 5% intraday, Alibaba rising over 8%, and Tencent rising over 3%. Market analysts believe that funds are flowing from crowded trades focused on AI infrastructure to markets with lower valuations and more value-oriented characteristics. Reuters' report on DeepSeek's self-developed chip and The Information's report on Zhipu AI considering designing its own AI chip further fueled this rotation. (Jinshi)
South Korean beauty and retail stocks led the market gains, and Gate.com continues to expand its investment portfolio in South Korean stocks.
According to ChainCatcher, Gate's market data shows that the South Korean stock market was active today. Manyo Factory, a cosmetics stock, reached $11.60, up 18.43%; Heung Koo Petroleum reached $6.88, up 14.72%; and IT'S HANBUL reached $7.25, up 13.51%, with several popular South Korean stocks leading the market gains. Gate has established a 24/7 trading service system covering the three core markets of US, Hong Kong, and South Korea, supporting over 10,000 US stocks and ETFs, over 1,500 Hong Kong stocks, and over 1,000 South Korean stocks, totaling over 12,500 stocks and ETFs globally. Users can participate in global stock investment through their Gate unified account using USDT, supporting fractional share transactions starting from as low as 0.01 shares, and enjoying stock dividend rights. The platform also supports cross-brokerage transfers for US and Hong Kong stocks, as well as corporate actions such as stock splits and consolidations, further optimizing the stock investment service experience.
Analysis: South Korean stocks have plummeted more than 20% from their peak and are poised to enter a technical bear market.
PANews reported on July 8th that, according to Jinshi, the South Korean stock market continued its decline, with the KOSPI index falling by more than 6% intraday, accumulating a drop of over 20% since its June peak, poised to enter a technical bear market. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell by approximately 7% and 5% respectively, as investors reassess the prospects for AI demand. South Korea has been the world's best-performing stock market this year, but its over-reliance on two chipmakers makes it particularly vulnerable to shifts in industry sentiment. Leveraged ETFs amplified two-way volatility, further exacerbating market fluctuations. Despite Samsung Electronics' quarterly profit surging 19-fold this week, chip stocks continued their decline, highlighting that traders are demanding more evidence to justify the exorbitant investments across the entire supply chain. Fidelity International portfolio manager Ian Samson stated, "The current increased volatility stems largely from fundamental uncertainty."
U.S. stocks closed lower across the board, with semiconductor, memory, and optical communication sectors leading the declines. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 4.65%.
According to BlockBeats, on July 8th, based on BIT (bit.com) market data, the US reinstated military strikes against Iran and oil sanctions. As a result, all three major US stock indices closed lower: the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.25%, the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.16%, and the S&P 500 fell 0.45%. The semiconductor and memory sectors declined, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index falling 4.65%, and SpaceX falling nearly 7%, hitting a new low since its IPO. The memory sector saw the largest declines, with Western Digital (WDC) down 7.86%, Seagate Technology (STX) down 4.68%, Micron Technology (MU) down 4.71%, and SanDisk (SNDK) down 7.26%. Semiconductor stocks generally declined, with Lam Research (LRCX) down 6.87%, Applied Materials (AMAT) down 6.46%, Marvell Technology (MRVL) down 7.45%, KLA-Tec (KLAC) down 7.22%, AMD (AMD) down 6.51%, and Intel (INTC) down 9.66%. Optical communication concept stocks also faced pre-market pressure, with Astera Labs (ALAB) down 11.12%, Ciena (CIEN) down 3.44%, Coherent (COHR) down 6.43%, Lumentum (LITE) down 4.42%, and Corning (GLW) down 4.84%.
U.S. stocks closed lower across the board, with SanDisk falling 7%.
According to ChainCatcher, Gate market data shows that U.S. stocks closed lower on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.25%, the S&P 500 fell 0.45%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.16%. Memory chip stocks continued to decline, with SanDisk (SNDK.O) down 7%, Western Digital (WDC.O) down nearly 8%, and Micron Technology (MU.O) down 4.7%. The Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index closed down 0.57%, and iQiyi (IQ.O) fell nearly 7%.