South Korean equities plunged more than 5% on June 5 as investors locked in profits from a recent tech-driven rally and reacted to heightened uncertainty over US-Iran peace negotiations, while the won weakened sharply against the US dollar, Korea JoongAng Daily reported.
The benchmark Kospi slumped 478.82 points, or 5.54%, to close at 8,160.59, marking its second straight session of losses. The index opened 3.66% lower, triggering a temporary sidecar halt in programme trading at 9:08am after the Kospi 200 Futures dropped more than 5% for at least one minute.
Foreign selling dominated sentiment, with overseas investors extending their net selling streak to 20 consecutive sessions and offloading 3.5 trillion won. Institutions also sold 942.4 billion won, while retail investors absorbed the bulk of the pressure with net purchases of 4.22 trillion won.
Technology stocks led the rout, with Samsung Electronics falling 6.4% to 329,000 won and SK hynix plunging 9.92% to 2.07 million won. SK Square dropped 7.57%, while Hyundai Motor ended flat at 700,000 won.
In contrast, financial stocks outperformed as investors priced in potential interest rate hikes amid rising inflation pressures. KB Financial surged 4.51%, while Shinhan Financial Group jumped 7.39%.
Market breadth was firmly negative, with 671 decliners versus 224 gainers. Trading volume reached 446.37 million shares worth 45.73 trillion won (US$29.7 billion).
