KOSPI closes 3.59% lower at 5,648.79 as AI fears hit tech stocks
Published on 11/03/2026 at 13:31 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWSSeoul stocks retreat on AI concerns
- The KOSPI closed at 5,648.79 on November 3, down 210.29 points or 3.59 percent.
- Technology and semiconductor shares led the decline as investors questioned the profitability and financing of large AI infrastructure investments.
- Foreign investors and institutions were net sellers, while individual investors bought Korean equities.
- The index fell as low as 5,615.80 during the session before recovering some ground.
South Korea's KOSPI closed sharply lower on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. The benchmark ended at 5,648.79, down 210.29 points or 3.59 percent from the previous session's close of 5,859.08. The close was reported by Yonhap News Agency.
AI funding concerns hit technology shares
The sell-off was concentrated in technology and semiconductor stocks. Investors were increasingly concerned that the scale of planned artificial intelligence infrastructure spending could put pressure on companies' financing needs, profitability and investment returns. Weakness in US technology shares during the previous session added to the negative backdrop for Seoul-listed chipmakers.
Samsung Electronics fell 4.15 percent to 219,500 Korean won, while SK hynix declined 5.03 percent to 1.4 million Korean won. SK Square lost 5.37 percent and Samsung Electro-Mechanics dropped 7.38 percent. The moves underline the sensitivity of the index to large-cap technology stocks, which have a significant influence on the market-capitalization-weighted KOSPI.
Foreign selling intensified the decline
Foreign investors were net sellers of about 1.5 trillion Korean won on the main board, and institutions sold a further 511.7 billion Korean won, according to Yonhap. Individual investors bought about 1.7 trillion Korean won, but their purchases did not prevent the index from extending its losses.
The KOSPI opened 2.46 percent lower and reached an intraday low of 5,615.80, equivalent to a decline of 4.15 percent, before recovering part of the loss. The Herald Business, citing Korea Exchange data, also reported that concerns about the funding of large AI build-outs and uncertainty ahead of the US midterm elections weighed on risk appetite. Lower oil prices and hopes for a diplomatic solution in the Middle East provided little support for the broader market.
Market context for investors
The decline reversed much of the previous session's 2.24 percent advance and returned the index to the 5,600 range. For investors, the session highlighted the continued concentration of market risk in semiconductor leaders and the importance of expectations for AI spending returns, rather than AI demand alone. The move describes the index's performance and does not by itself establish a causal relationship between any single news item and the market reaction.
Further KOSPI coverage is available on the KOSPI topic page.
