South Korea's KOSPI Drops 21% in a Month as AI-Fueled Asian Market Leaders Cool
Updated
Updated · Moneycontrol · Aug 5
South Korea's KOSPI Drops 21% in a Month as AI-Fueled Asian Market Leaders Cool
3 articles · Updated · Moneycontrol · Aug 5
Summary
South Korea’s KOSPI has fallen 21.38% over the past month, while Taiwan’s benchmark dropped 7.26% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 8.69%, marking a sharp reversal in Asia’s hottest equity markets.
Those pullbacks follow an AI- and semiconductor-led surge that still leaves South Korea and Taiwan up about 50% in 2026, powered by chip demand, strong exports and heavyweight names such as Samsung, SK Hynix and TSMC.
India has lagged that rally, with the Nifty 50 slipping into negative territory as richer starting valuations, weakness in IT and continued foreign investor selling weighed on sentiment.
The correction underscores how quickly market leadership can rotate, with analysts urging investors to focus on valuations, earnings and diversification rather than chase the latest top-performing market.