Asian stocks climbed on Monday after a surprisingly weak US jobs report eased fears of an imminent Federal Reserve rate increase, helping risk appetite recover even as oil prices moved higher on renewed uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose about 2%, South Korea's KOSPI added 1.1% and MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific gauge outside Japan gained 0.8%.
Some say that history may not repeat itself, but it often rhymes. Single-stock product launches have exploded in the ETF ecosystem, but South Korea's recent efforts to curb excessive speculation in these funds are producing historical echoes of the Panic of 1873.
South Korea's AI and semiconductor strength remains compelling despite recent volatility. Here's how investors can play the opportunity with ETFs.
Goldman Sachs Chief Asia-Pacific Equity Strategist Tim Moe raised the firm's Kospi target to 12,000, an implied roughly 90% upside even as the Korean market absorbs a violent unwind of leveraged retail products.
The Kospi Index dropped by over 4% on Monday as the biggest constituent companies resumed their plunge. It dropped to 6,263 points, erasing some of the gains made on Friday, when it staged one of its best recoveries this year.
SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics shares fell sharply on Monday, giving back part of Friday's record rebound as investors locked in profits after one of the most dramatic sessions in South Korean market history. Samsung dropped 6.48% and SK Hynix lost 6.69% by 9:15 AM in Seoul, while the Kospi slid 4.25%.
The Kospi Index has plunged this year, moving from a record high of 9,410 in June to the current 5,817. This retreat has made it one of the worst-performing global indices.
Investors in the South Korean stock market have experienced a rollercoaster-like ride in 2026. With the recent pullback and the fundamental story still intact, the index is poised to bounce.
SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics stocks extended their selloff in Seoul on Wednesday as record memory-chip earnings failed to calm investors, sharply cutting the premium attached to the artificial-intelligence boom. SK Hynix reversed an early gain and fell more than 8% during trading on July 29, while Samsung dropped nearly 5%.
South Korea's top financial regulator said on Tuesday that authorities would consider a cap on single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETF) investments for retail investors if needed, local media reports said.
South Korea's Kospi Index pulled back modestly on Monday, even as a risk-on sentiment spread in the financial market. It dropped to 6,650, down sharply from the year-to-date high of 9,387 as traders focused on the upcoming Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix earnings.
South Korea's benchmark index, KOSPI, has been under immense pressure in recent weeks – down over 20% from its all-time high on June 22nd. Still, analysts at Citigroup remain convinced the rout is “temporary” and South Korean stocks will recover sharply in the second half of 2026.