Standard monthly KOSPI 200 options expire on the second Thursday of each month and settle against the 15:20-15:30 closing auction, so some hedge- and arbitrage-linked program flows concentrate into those final ten minutes. Here is how to read the futures basis and KRX program-trade balance beforehand — and what those indicators can and cannot tell you — with a worked reading of August 2026 foreign-flow data.
Korea’s KOSPI fell 4.58% as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix tracked the Nasdaq’s AI-spending scare, triggering a sell-side sidecar. KOSDAQ closed higher on a biotech rotation, and retail investors bought the dip against heavy foreign selling.
Korea’s KOSPI closed at 6,598.26, up 3.76%, after AI semiconductor euphoria from Wall Street triggered a buy-side sidecar and produced 12 limit-up stocks — the most in a day since tracking began in June 2022. Foreigners bought over 1.4 trillion won intraday while retail investors sold.
A day after a 5.12% plunge, the KOSPI swung from +1.8% to -2.7% intraday before stabilizing near 6,228 by late morning, as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix steadied. The KOSDAQ was up nearly 5% by late morning, triggering its third consecutive buy-side sidecar as money rotated into biotech, robotics and batteries. Figures for August 4 are an intraday snapshot, not final closes.
The KOSPI fell 5.12% to 6,257.45 as traders booked profits from Friday’s record 17.91% surge, with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix both down almost 9%. The KOSDAQ climbed 2.44% and triggered a buy sidecar as money rotated into bio and robotics names.
DRAM spot prices historically turn one to two quarters before Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix earnings inflect — and those two stocks drive the KOSPI. Here is where to find the DXI index, DRAMeXchange spot quotes, and hyperscaler capex guidance, and how to read a cycle turn step by step.
The KOSPI surged 17.91% to 6,595.45 — its biggest one-day gain on record — as strong US tech earnings eased AI profitability fears and foreign investors piled back in after a brutal two-week selloff capped by back-to-back circuit breakers.
The KOSPI fell 1.23% to 5,593.56 for a third straight loss as a morning push toward 6,000 collapsed under semiconductor profit-taking. SK hynix sank 5.6% while batteries and banks rallied, and foreign investors returned as net buyers on the main board.
Korea’s KOSPI fell 5.98% and the KOSDAQ 6.12%, with market-wide circuit breakers halting both boards for a second straight day. SK hynix’s guidance letdown and forced selling from single-stock leveraged products drove the slide.
The KOSPI fell 10.84% to 6,023.66 and briefly broke below 6,000 as China semiconductor fears hammered Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Both exchanges halted trading with sidecars and circuit breakers while foreign investors dumped roughly $3.4 billion of Korean stocks.