Update: KOSPI Rebounds More Than 2% in Early Trade on October 14 After Five Sessions of Chip Selling

Updated October 14, 2026: The KOSPI rebounded more than 2% in early trade on Wednesday after five sessions of losses. The new section directly below covers it; the October 13 and October 12 sections follow, unchanged.

October 14: an early rebound of more than 2%#

The KOSPI rose more than 2% in early trade on Wednesday, October 14, snapping a five-session losing streak, The Herald Business reports. As of 9:30 a.m. Seoul time the index was at 6,176.74, up 2.34% from the previous session, according to The Asia Business Daily. Both figures are early-session levels, not a close.

Samsung Electronics was up about 3.6% and SK hynix about 2.6% to 3.2% in early trade, according to the two outlets, whose snapshots were taken at different times. Foreign investors, net sellers for six straight sessions, switched to net buying, The Herald Business reports. It says the index had fallen more than 5% on Tuesday.

The Herald Business links the bounce to bargain hunting and to remarks by Federal Reserve officials that eased pressure from rising long-term Treasury yields. Overnight in the US, Micron fell 3.62% and SK hynix's American depositary receipt fell 3.19%, it reports.

Updated October 13, 2026: Korean chip selling continued for a fifth day, with the KOSPI down more than 6% on Tuesday, and the IMF warned about an AI correction. The new section directly below covers it; the October 12 report follows, unchanged except that its headings now sit under a dated section.

October 13: a fifth day of selling and an IMF warning#

Selling of South Korean chipmaker shares extended into a fifth straight day on Tuesday, October 13, with the KOSPI down more than 6%, Reuters reports. Reuters says the index is on its longest losing streak in more than two years and is down a quarter from its July highs. The figures are intraday, as of Reuters' report; we have not seen a closing level.

The selling spread beyond Seoul, according to Reuters: memory maker Kioxia fell 13% in Tokyo, and in the US the Philadelphia semiconductor index fell 1.7% on Tuesday after a 2.7% drop on Monday, with Micron down 4%. On Monday, BlackRock's research arm cut its US stocks outlook to neutral, citing "potential volatility around the AI buildout," Reuters reports.

Marc Velan of Lucerne Asset Management told Reuters the "brutal session" in South Korea says more about positioning and the cost of capital than about weaker AI demand. "Korea could be an early warning of a broader shakeout," he said.

The IMF's warning#

"The consequences of an AI correction could be global," the International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday in its latest Global Financial Stability Report, Reuters reports. The Guardian reports that the IMF named an AI correction as one of three "salient risks," alongside government borrowing costs and a cyber-attack, and quotes it warning that "weaker or less durable investment and profitability in AI could trigger a correction." The Guardian also reports the IMF saying Asia is most exposed.

Firmus, already covered#

Reuters cites the Firmus listing as part of the same mood shift: the Nvidia-backed operator shelved a $5 billion IPO in Australia last week. That withdrawal happened on October 9 and is not new; our Firmus coverage has the details.

October 12: original report#

Investors in Korea's memory makers are asking how long the boom lasts, not how big it is now, analysts say. Days after Samsung Electronics guided to a record quarter, the KOSPI fell 3.65% on Monday, October 12, to close at 6,384.24, its biggest one-day drop since September 2, with the two chip heavyweights leading it down, The Korea Times reports.

The numbers#

• KOSPI: down 241.69 points to 6,384.24, after opening at 6,578.17. It has lost 619.50 points, or 8.85%, since October 6, falling through 7,000, 6,500 and 6,400 along the way. On September 2 it fell 3.99%.
• Kosdaq: down 4.83% to 849.19.
• Samsung Electronics fell 4.39% and SK hynix 4.52%.
• Foreign selling extended to a fourth session. The won strengthened to 1,335.1 per dollar.

All figures above are closing levels as reported by The Korea Times; intraday moves reported elsewhere were different.

Why analysts say it fell#

Analysts and reports cite several causes, not all of them AI-related.

Kim Seok-hwan of Mirae Asset Securities told The Korea Times the two stocks fell "as investors weighed renewed concerns about an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble following reports about OpenAI." Those were last week's reports that OpenAI's annual revenue was lower than previously reported; The Korea Times puts the gap at $20 billion and says it "reflected different accounting methods rather than a drop in sales," noting the Nasdaq recovered 0.64% the next day. We covered the OpenAI revenue reports last week.

Invezz adds macro pressures: foreign investors sold as renewed Middle East tensions, elevated US Treasury yields and weak global semiconductor shares hit risk appetite. It quotes Kim telling Reuters that "the market's focus has shifted to whether the sharp earnings growth that started a year ago would be sustainable," and Kiwoom Securities' Han Ji-young saying, via MoneyToday, that the concern "lies not in immediate changes in memory demand." Invezz says investors are asking whether tight supply and high margins can last as the three biggest memory makers expand capacity from next year through 2028.

Earnings and prices#

The selloff came after Samsung's preliminary guidance of about ₩107.4 trillion in third-quarter operating profit, which we covered last week. Prices are still rising, but more slowly: Invezz reports that TrendForce expects conventional DRAM contract prices to rise 10% to 15% quarter on quarter in the fourth quarter, compared with a roughly 60% jump in the second. Sanjeev Rana of CLSA Securities Korea told Bloomberg that "demand continues to exceed supply and HBM pricing is poised for a big step up in 2027," Invezz reports.

Yuanta Securities' Lee Jae-won told The Korea Times that Korean earnings depend largely on memory, while US leaders span a wider range of AI services and infrastructure, and cautioned against reading the gap as lost competitiveness.

The next tests are on the calendar: ASML and TSMC report this week, SK hynix on October 27, and Samsung holds its earnings call on October 29.

Limits#

• The link to AI-bubble worries is one analyst's reading; the sources also cite macro factors, and no single cause is established.
• Invezz's Reuters, Bloomberg and MoneyToday quotes were read only as Invezz relays them. We did not use the stock calls Invezz publishes alongside its report.

Sources#

• The Herald Business: Kospi rebounds over 2% after 5-day losing streak; foreigners turn net buyers (October 14, 2026)
• The Asia Business Daily: 'Prices Look Good': Foreign Investors Scoop Up Samsung Electronics and SK hynix Again... KOSPI Rises More Than 2% (October 14, 2026)
• Reuters via Investing.com: Analysis: 'Brutal session' for chip stocks shows AI trade is turning (October 13, 2026)
• The Guardian: IMF warns of AI share crash risk (October 13, 2026)
• Times of AI: Firmus IPO coverage
• The Korea Times: KOSPI plunges 3.65% despite Samsung's record earnings (October 12, 2026)
• Invezz: Why are Samsung and SK Hynix crashing even as memory prices keep climbing? (October 12, 2026)
• Times of AI: OpenAI annualized revenue reports
• Times of AI: Samsung Guides to ₩107.4 Trillion Quarterly Profit as Analysts Credit AI Memory