KOSPI Falls 4.77%, Far More Than Nikkei, as AI Earnings Scare Hits Chipmakers

South Korea’s KOSPI fell 4.77% to 5,654.61 by 10:40 a.m. Seoul time on Friday, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 2.81%. The selloff followed a 12.64% drop in Alphabet shares after its capital spending more than doubled, according to BeInCrypto. Samsung Electronics fell 6.25% and SK Hynix dropped 8.91%; the two companies accounted for 50% of KOSPI’s market value on average. The Korea Exchange halted program selling for five minutes at 10:04 a.m.