The benchmark KOSPI dropped more than 4% to around 6,300 on Monday, erasing gains from the prior session as investors moved to lock in profits. The pullback followed the index’s roughly 17% surge on Friday—its largest single-day advance on record—with heavyweight chipmakers surrendering part of their sharp gains.
In contrast, Morgan Stanley upgraded South Korean equities to “overweight,” characterizing the recent leverage-driven selloff as largely technical and forecasting a 36% upside potential for the KOSPI.
Market sentiment also found some support after US President Donald Trump called off a planned strike on Iran, a decision that weighed on oil prices and eased some geopolitical risk concerns.
Technology heavyweights led Monday’s decline, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix each falling more than 7%. Other notable losers included SK Square (-1.1%), LG Energy Solution (-4.4%), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (-1.0%), Kia Corporation (-3.1%), Samsung Biologics (-3.5%), Naver (-1.9%), and SK Inc. (-4.1%).
