--- title: "South Korean stocks plunge 8% triggering circuit breaker; Samsung Electronics drops 10% at open; Taiwan Semiconductor falls 5.7%" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/288982060.md" description: "Iran's missile attacks on Israel have ignited global risk assets. The South Korean Kospi index plummeted over 8% in a single day, triggering a circuit breaker, while the South Korean won fell to its lowest level since 2009. Japanese stocks and U.S. futures declined in tandem. Compounded by strong employment data that heightened rate hike expectations, the NASDAQ Composite Index already suffered a heavy 4.18% drop last week. Oil prices surged, and gold opened lower before rising. This week's CPI and PPI data, along with SpaceX's landmark IPO, will serve as key stress tests for the market" datetime: "2026-06-08T06:17:43.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/288982060.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/288982060.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/288982060.md) --- # South Korean stocks plunge 8% triggering circuit breaker; Samsung Electronics drops 10% at open; Taiwan Semiconductor falls 5.7% The ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran is precarious. Coupled with last week's strong employment data, which has heightened expectations of interest rate hikes, global risk assets are facing multiple shocks. Iran launched multiple rounds of missiles at Israel, once again escalating the already fragile ceasefire situation in the Middle East. **Asia-Pacific stock markets opened significantly lower on Monday, with South Korea's benchmark Kospi index plunging over 8%, triggering the circuit breaker mechanism**; Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by approximately 3.4%; and Taiwan's TAIEX dropped 5.4% at the open, with Taiwan Semiconductor falling 5.7%. The South Korean stock market had previously been one of the best-performing major markets globally this year, leading gains driven by AI-related stocks. However, this sell-off has rapidly erased that advantage. Meanwhile, the exchange rate of the South Korean won fell to its lowest level since 2009, prompting the South Korean government to announce a series of measures to curb pressure on the currency's depreciation. U.S. stock futures weakened in tandem, with Nasdaq 100 futures initially falling in early trading before turning to a 0.3% gain. **This shock comes as U.S. stocks were already showing signs of fatigue.** Last Friday, the NASDAQ Composite Index plummeted 4.18%, marking its largest single-day drop since April 2025; the S&P 500 Index fell 2.64%, failing to extend its winning streak to ten consecutive weeks; and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 695 points in the day. The trigger for this round of sell-offs was the May employment report, which came in stronger than expected. The data intensified market bets on Federal Reserve rate hikes, thereby sparking concerns that higher financing costs would suppress investment in AI expansion. This week, investors face tests from two major events. On Wednesday and Thursday, the U.S. will release the May Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI), respectively. The market expects both datasets to show persistent inflationary pressures. On Friday, Elon Musk's SpaceX will officially go public. It is expected to become one of the largest IPOs in Wall Street history and one of the most important tests of the market's AI valuation narrative. **Update at 8:46:** The Korea Composite Stock Price Index plummeted over 8%, triggering a trading suspension mechanism. After the circuit breaker was lifted and trading resumed, the decline in South Korean stocks narrowed to less than 5%. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix led the declines, with Samsung Electronics dropping 10% at the open. The Nikkei 225 Index fell by approximately 3.4%, and the TOPIX dropped more than 1%; the MSCI Asia Index fell 1.6% overall. Brent crude oil prices rose 2.4% to $95.33 per barrel, and WTI crude oil increased 2.2% to $92.57 per barrel. Spot gold opened lower before moving higher, rising 0.38% to $4,343.80 per ounce at the time of reporting. In contrast, the cryptocurrency market rose, with Bitcoin up 2.2% to $63,181.45 and Ethereum up 3.5% to $1,684.87. 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