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MARKET BRIEFING · KOREA

Almost every stock bounced back, yet EV batteries and Korean Air went the other way.

October 16, 2026 · Read the Korean original

Major indices

  • KOSPI 5,668.05 +2.05%
  • KOSDAQ 794.78 +4.46%

A market that had triggered circuit breakers the previous day turned around within a single session, but it recovered only a fraction of what it lost. The KOSPI closed 2.05% higher at 5668.05 and the KOSDAQ 4.46% higher at 794.78, with advancing stocks outnumbering decliners 761 to 134 on the KOSPI and 1,498 to 195 on the KOSDAQ, so nearly everything rose. Even so, only three stocks set 252-session highs while ten set new lows, meaning the bounce has not yet restored price levels.

It was easier to name the industries that fell than those that rose. Displays, cosmetics, biotech and semiconductors led together, with defense, steel and autos also lining up on the upside, while EV batteries alone moved backwards and L&F fell 10.51%. The biggest decline on a rising day came from Korean Air, which had just reported third-quarter revenue above 5 trillion won; Seoul Economic Daily attributes the drop to the burden of high oil prices overshadowing those results. Industry moves and individual names are laid out in the industry watchlist below.

The warmth that began in bonds and moved into equities shows up first in yields. The three-year Korean government bond yield fell 1.3 basis points to 3.854% and the ten-year fell 1.1 basis points to 4.182%, while the US ten-year, as of the 14th, slipped 2 basis points to 5.19%, and rate-sensitive biotech responded first. Oil moved the other way: as of the 14th, WTI was 101.91 dollars a barrel and Brent 126.55 dollars, leaving pressure on airlines. Market cash has not returned yet, with investor deposits as of the 14th down 2.6703 trillion won to 97.428 trillion won and margin loans down 547.1 billion won to 33.7057 trillion won, while forced liquidations that day rose 50.5% to 89.3 billion won. Program non-arbitrage trading, however, swung to a net purchase of 596.1 billion won on the KOSPI.

The trigger for the rebound came from remarks in the United States rather than at home. SBS Biz reported that Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang dismissed concerns about CoreWeave's financial condition, easing credit worries around AI investment, and tension in the Middle East added to that, lifting Hanwha Aerospace 7.77%. Where the money gathered is clear: the semiconductor industry held the most leading stocks at seven, its chip-testing segment was the strongest of them, the PLUS AI Semiconductor Materials and Equipment Active ETF rose 10.62%, and front-end equipment maker STI jumped 14.5% to close at 30,800 won. Set against Polinews reporting that foreign investors turned net buyers for the first time in nine sessions, Korea's weight within the MSCI Emerging Markets index stood at 19.06% as of the 14th, down 2.07 percentage points in a week and further from the June peak of 24.59%.

To separate what is what: index levels, advance and decline counts, industry moves and standout-stock figures are calculated by this site, while the cited reasons for the rebound, namely easing AI credit concerns and Middle East tension along with the oil-price burden on Korean Air, are estimates based on press reports. Investor deposits, margin loans and forced liquidations are as of the 14th because of reporting lags, and oil and US yields are also as of the 14th. Several outlets reported that the won-dollar rate closed at 1,331.4, down 13.2 won and the lowest in about two years, whereas the figure stored on this site for the 16th is 1,348.5, close to the morning high, so it appears not to reflect the afternoon reversal and the currency trend may be better read from those reports.

Watchlist stocks by industry

Display & OLED +6.11% · 3 of 3 up

Cosmetics & beauty +5.74% · 12 of 12 up

Bio & healthcare +5.25% · 31 of 34 up

Semiconductors +4.40% · 40 of 43 up

Travel & leisure +0.67% · 11 of 16 up

EV batteries -2.31% · 4 of 13 up

Sources (Korean-language)

This market briefing was compiled by AI from this site's own price and filing data together with public news reports, and translated from the Korean original. Please check the sources below before relying on it.

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