Kospi Plunges 4.91% as Samsung Leads Selloff in Tech

According to Bloomberg and Yonhap News Agency, South Korea stocks fell as volatility hit chipmakers anew after blowout earnings from Samsung Electronics left investors wanting even more. The world's biggest memory maker by market value slumped 7.5% in Seoul after its quarterly profit surged 19-fold and operating profit beat projections by about 8%, but failed to wow investors, sending peers across the region tumbling. The Kospi fell 395.02 points, or 4.91%, to close at 7,656.31, with the Korea Exchange activating a circuit breaker for 20 minutes after the index plunged more than 8% intraday. Samsung Electronics closed down 6.92% to 296,000 won, while SK Hynix declined 6.06% to 2,201,000 won ahead of its planned $29 billion US listing later this week.Institutions and foreigners sold a net 309.1 billion won and 2.92 trillion won respectively, while individuals purchased a net 3.13 trillion won.  Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.8%, with SpaceX joining the Nasdaq 100 on Tuesday. Panmure Liberum head of strategy Joachim Klement said the market reaction to Samsung shows investors have adopted a beat-and-raise mindset, and that SpaceX's inclusion in Nasdaq indices may weigh on tech stocks as index funds sell some holdings to make room. Brent crude rose 1.4% to $73.03 a barrel after a laden LNG carrier was struck by a projectile near the Omani coast, a fresh attack testing the late-June US-Iran peace deal. The 10-year Treasury yield advanced three basis points to 4.50%. The yen was slightly stronger around 161.91 per dollar even as positioning data showed hedge funds turned the most negative on the Japanese currency since 2007. Gold slipped for a second day to around $4,130 an ounce. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1.6% and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 1.9%.