KOSPI Plunges as Qualcomm's AI Chip Announcement Rattles Market
KOSPI Slips Below 4,000 Amidst Qualcomm's AI Chip Debut
The KOSPI index has retreated below the 4,000 threshold after a single day, fueling investor anxiety. As of 9:25 AM on October 28, 2025, the KOSPI is down 0.91% (36.86 points) from the previous closing price, settling at 4005.97 points. The day began with the KOSPI opening lower at 4010.47 points, a decrease of 0.80% (32.36 points), and briefly dipped as low as 3980 during the session, exhibiting a volatile trend. Although it recovered slightly to regain the 4,000 level, the index remains in decline. Investors are closely monitoring the KOSPI's trajectory, remaining on high alert.
Examining trends by investor type, foreign and institutional investors are driving the index's decline in the KOSPI market on October 28, 2025, with net sales of 527.4 billion won and 42.6 billion won, respectively. In contrast, individual investors are attempting to bolster the index with net purchases of 571.2 billion won, but their efforts have proven insufficient. The combined selling pressure from foreign and institutional investors is dampening investment sentiment across the board, and it is analyzed that individual investors' buying alone cannot halt the slide. A thorough examination of the reasons behind the large-scale sell-off by foreign investors is particularly necessary at this juncture.
Performance among the top 10 KOSPI-listed companies by market capitalization is mixed. As of October 28, 2025, eight stocks are trending downward, including HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (-3.61%), SK Hynix (-2.52%), Samsung Electronics (-2.06%), Hanwha Aerospace (-1.64%), Samsung Electronics (Preferred) (-1.38%), Hyundai Motor (-1.38%), Kia (-0.96%), and LG Energy Solution (-0.61%). Conversely, Doosan Enerbility (2.20%) and Samsung Biologics (2.15%) are showing gains, injecting some much-needed vitality into the market. Samsung Electronics' significant decline appears to be negatively impacting the overall KOSPI index.
Meanwhile, the KOSDAQ index is displaying a different pattern compared to the KOSPI. On October 28, 2025, the KOSDAQ is up 0.14% (1.25 points) from the previous day, reaching 903.95 points. While foreign investors are net sellers of 86.6 billion won in the KOSDAQ market, individual and institutional investors are leading the index's rise with net purchases of 86 billion won and 1.6 billion won, respectively. Among the top 10 KOSDAQ-listed companies by market capitalization, six stocks are showing gains, including LIG ChemBio (1.25%), Rainbow Robotics (1.02%), ABL Bio (0.79%), PharmaResearch (0.56%), EcoPro (0.37%), and Alteogen (0.21%), while four stocks are declining, including EcoProBM (-1.97%), Samchun Dang Pharm (-1.77%), PepTron (-1.28%), and HLB (-0.22%).
It is believed that the KOSPI's decline today was influenced by the announcement of an artificial intelligence (AI) chip by the US semiconductor company Qualcomm. Qualcomm's stock price surged 11% after announcing plans to launch AI accelerator chips starting next year. This appears to have affected the investment sentiment of foreign investors in the domestic stock market, leading to a selling spree. In particular, it is analyzed that this has impacted the stock prices of domestic semiconductor companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. There is growing consensus that continuous monitoring of the impact of Qualcomm's AI chip announcement on the domestic stock market is necessary. As of 9:00 AM on October 28, 2025, the won/dollar exchange rate in the Seoul foreign exchange market began trading at 1432.1 won, up 0.4 won.
