KOSPI Briefly Tops 8,900 Before Pulling Back

South Korea’s Stock Market Hits Record High but Faces Early Volatility

📈 KOSPI Reaches Historic Milestone

South Korea’s benchmark stock index, the
KOSPI,
briefly surpassed the 8,900-point level for the first time in history on June 2, 2026.

The index opened strongly at 8,883.19 points, up 94.81 points (1.08%) from the previous session, and quickly climbed above the symbolic 8,900 mark.

However, the rally proved short-lived as major technology stocks reversed direction, triggering a broader market pullback.

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🔄 Sharp Reversal After Early Surge

By 9:19 a.m. local time, the KOSPI had fallen 1.94% from the previous trading day to 8,617.53 points.

Market participants described the session as highly volatile, with investors taking profits after recent gains.

The sudden reversal came despite strong optimism that had pushed the market to record levels earlier in the morning.

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💻 Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix Lead the Pullback

Shares of
Samsung Electronics
experienced dramatic price swings.

The stock:

• Opened up more than 3%
• Rose as much as 6% during early trading
• Briefly surpassed 370,000 won
• Later turned negative before rebounding again

Meanwhile,
SK Hynix
also reversed course after an early gain and fell as much as 4%.

As semiconductor stocks are among the largest components of the Korean market, their weakness contributed significantly to the index decline.

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🤖 “Jensen Huang Effect” Begins to Fade

Investor enthusiasm had been fueled by what local traders called the “Jensen Huang Effect.”

Jensen Huang, the CEO of
NVIDIA,
has become a major market-moving figure due to the global AI boom.

However, some of the stocks that benefited from AI-related speculation began to retreat.

Shares of
Naver,
which had surged the previous day amid rumors of a meeting with Huang, dropped more than 7%.

Other notable decliners included:

• SK Square
• Hyundai Motor Company
• Samsung Electro-Mechanics

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📉 KOSDAQ Also Moves Lower

The technology-focused
KOSDAQ
also traded lower.

At the same time, the index was down approximately 2.05% at 1,028.53 points, reflecting broader weakness across growth and technology stocks.

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🌏 What Investors Are Watching

Despite the morning sell-off, analysts note that the KOSPI remains near record highs.

Key factors likely to influence market direction in the coming weeks include:

• Global demand for AI-related technology
• Semiconductor industry performance
• U.S. interest-rate expectations
• Foreign investor inflows
• Corporate earnings from major Korean companies

The sharp move above 8,900 demonstrates strong investor confidence, but the quick retreat also highlights growing concerns about valuations after the market’s rapid rise.