South Korea stocks plunge 8%

June 08, 2026 (MLN): South Korea's benchmark equity index dived down more than 8% on Monday, which triggered circuit breakers for the third time this year.

This came through as stronger-than-expected US jobs data stoked fears of a Federal Reserve rate hike and battered the technology shares that had driven the index's record-breaking run.

US nonfarm payrolls rose by a seasonally adjusted 172,000 in May, well above the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 80,000, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%.

The KOSPI closed 8.3% lower at 7,484.41, its steepest single-session decline since March 4, leaving the index 15% off its June 2 peak of 8,801.49, according to Reuters.

Trading was halted for 20 minutes shortly after the open  the first such suspension in three months followed by a secondary sidecar curb.

It was the ninth time in history circuit breakers have been activated on the benchmark.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the two chipmakers that between them account for more than half the index's weighting, bore the brunt of the selloff.

Samsung lost 10.2% while SK Hynix shed 7.7%.

Both firms have seen their market capitalizations surge over 150% and 200% respectively this year, propelling each into the $1 trillion club on the back of record profits.

The immediate trigger was Friday's US nonfarm payrolls report, which came in well above expectations and shattered lingering hopes that the Federal Reserve might resume its rate-cutting cycle later this year.

US equities tumbled sharply, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite losing 4.18% and closing at 25,709 on Friday, its biggest single-session drop since the tariff turmoil of April 2025.

The S&P 500 dropped 2.64% to close at 7,383, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 695 points, or 1.35%, settling at 50,866.

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