Brokerage stocks fell across the board as Korea's stock market plunged more than 10% on the 28th. As market volatility widened, with circuit breakers triggered simultaneously on both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ amid a wave of panic selling centered on semiconductor stocks, the selling pressure spread throughout the brokerage sector.
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 29th, Mirae Asset Securities (006800.KS) closed at 33,050 won, down 10.80% from the previous trading day. During the session, it fell as much as 12.28% to 32,500 won.
Kiwoom Securities (039490.KS) declined 9.33%, SK Securities fell 10.44%, and Hyundai Motor Securities dropped 8.41%. Other major brokerage stocks, including Daishin Securities, NH Investment & Securities (005940.KS), and Korea Investment Holdings, also weakened.
The KOSPI closed at 6,023.66, down 732.09 points (10.84%) from the previous trading day, while the KOSDAQ index fell 59.01 points (7.72%) to 705.85. During the session, the KOSPI and KOSDAQ gave up the 6,000 and 700 levels, respectively, and circuit breakers were triggered simultaneously in both markets.
The market attributes the deepening declines in brokerage stocks to a sharp contraction in investor sentiment, driven by weakness in U.S. semiconductor stocks combined with concerns over China's semiconductor technology self-sufficiency. As brokerage stocks are sensitive to stock market trading value and investor sentiment, their share prices tend to show relatively greater volatility during sharp market declines.
The Information, an IT specialist outlet, reported on the 27th that a state-owned enterprise in Shanghai, China, had begun producing immersion deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography equipment. The company plans to produce five units this year and 20 next year to supply Chinese semiconductor firms including Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT), Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), and Hua Hong Semiconductor. Unlike extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology, which has remained at the prototype stage, DUV is assessed to have entered the commercialization phase.
As China accelerates the localization of lithography equipment, which the Netherlands' ASML has effectively monopolized, concerns have grown that competition in the memory market could intensify faster than expected. Analysts note that, given SMIC has implemented fine processes using immersion DUV despite U.S. export restrictions on semiconductor equipment to China, the technology gap could narrow rapidly.
The contraction in investor sentiment was reflected directly in volatility indicators. The KOSPI 200 Volatility Index (VKOSPI), known as Korea's "fear index," surged to 80.24 during the session, rebounding for the first time in seven trading days. The VKOSPI is an index representing the market's expected future volatility as reflected in option prices, and it typically rises the more the stock market plunges. After spiking to 97.99 last month, its highest level since the global financial crisis, it had appeared to calm somewhat, but on this day it recovered to the 80 level again, reflecting worsening investor sentiment.
