Major indices
- KOSPI 5,730.74 -3.48%
- KOSDAQ 724.38 -3.83%
This was not a decline led by a handful of large caps but one in which the whole market gave way at once. While the KOSPI closed 3.48% lower at 5,730.74 and the KOSDAQ 3.83% lower at 724.38, 233 KOSPI stocks rose against 645 that fell, and on the KOSDAQ 388 rose against 1,283 that fell. Only one stock set a 252-session high while 104 set new lows, so the base of the market was pushed down along with the index heavyweights.
By industry the center of the decline was unmistakable. Semiconductors fell hardest with not one of the 43 stocks tracked finishing higher, followed by automotive, robotics, power infrastructure and defense; for automotive the trigger was Kia reporting third-quarter operating profit more than 20% below market expectations, and for defense it was Hanwha Aerospace's results, released the previous day, falling well short of forecasts. Construction and nuclear power extended a second day of fallout from the termination of contract talks for the Dukovany nuclear project in the Czech Republic. On the other side shipping and logistics and food and beverages advanced, and healthcare was split internally: the industry average fell, yet Samsung Biologics and Hanmi Pharmaceutical rose sharply.
Where the money leaving equities went shows up in bonds and the currency. The three-year government bond yield fell 5.1 basis points to 3.715% and the ten-year fell 7.3 basis points to 4.008% as bonds strengthened, while the won firmed by 1.0 won to 1,335.3 per dollar rather than weakening alongside the sell-off. Gold and silver, usually treated as havens, instead eased to 3,997.02 dollars and 51.39 dollars, so the flight from risk did not extend to metals. Investor deposits stood at 88.2975 trillion won as of October 28, down 1.8055 trillion won in a day, and credit-financed buying balances fell to 29.329 trillion won, down 942.0 billion won over five sessions, suggesting leveraged money is withdrawing first, while program trading on the KOSPI finished with net buying of 459.9 billion won, leaving mechanical money on the other side.
The trigger was renewed skepticism about AI capital spending after Alphabet's shares fell more than 12% overnight, and Yonhap News and Seoul Economic Daily reported that foreign investors sold roughly 1.6 trillion won of KOSPI shares, setting off a sell-side sidecar during the session. The money did not simply leave the market, however. Among ETFs, TIGER 200 Healthcare led with a 2.4% gain, and Lunit rose 4.74%, extending the strongest trend in medical devices and diagnostics. Shipping and logistics posted the highest average move on the day, but the industry leading on relative strength was entertainment, which shows that the sectors that rose today and those that have held up steadily are not the same.
A note on what is confirmed and what is inferred. The index and industry and single-stock moves, the macro indicators and the market funding figures are tabulated or officially disclosed numbers, and the weak results at Kia and Hanwha Aerospace and the end of the Czech nuclear contract talks are likewise confirmed by company statements and reporting. How much of today's decline each of them explains, and whether money rotated into pharmaceuticals for their defensive character, rest on brokerage commentary and appear too early to state firmly. Investor deposits and credit financing balances are as of October 28 because of disclosure lags.
Watchlist stocks by industry
Shipping & logistics +1.46% · 3 of 4 up
- HMM +4.71%
- Pan Ocean +1.92%
- Hyundai Glovis -2.65%
Food & staples +1.41% · 9 of 13 up
- BGF Retail +3.99%
- Lotte Chilsung Beverage +3.72%
- Binggrae +3.15%
Bio & healthcare -0.63% · 14 of 34 up
- Samsung Biologics +8.86%
- Hanmi Pharmaceutical +6.82%
- 3billion -13.01%
Construction & infrastructure -3.44% · 1 of 17 up
- Xi S&D -11.63%
- GS E&C -11.56%
- Hyundai E&C -8.53%
Automotive -4.47% · 0 of 16 up
- Hyundai AutoEver -13.08%
- Kia -11.73%
- Samwha Capacitor -7.86%
Semiconductors -6.81% · 0 of 43 up
- Daeduck Electronics -13.60%
- Intekplus -11.94%
- KCTech -10.26%
Sources (Korean-language)
- 코스피, 5700선 후퇴...미 빅테크 'AI 투자 지속성' 우려 · 한국경제매거진 · 2026-10-30
- 호실적에도 AI 쇼크로 흔들린 코스피…4분기도 삼전·하닉에 기댄다 · 서울경제 · 2026-10-30
- 국고채 금리 일제히 하락…위험회피 속 주요국 채권 강세(종합) · 연합뉴스 · 2026-10-30
- [오늘의 주목주] '실적 실망감' 기아 주가 11%대 내려 · 비즈니스포스트 · 2026-10-30
- 키움증권, 체코 원전 시공계약 결렬에 "건설주 급락 과도" · 연합뉴스 · 2026-10-30
- [마감 시황] 글로벌 기술주 폭락에 짓눌린 증시…코스피 3.5% 급락 · 비즈니스코리아 · 2026-10-30
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.