On June 23, following a sharp shift in global sentiment towards the artificial intelligence market and macroeconomic events, the stock markets in South Korea and Japan experienced significant sell-offs after recently hitting multiple historical highs. In South Korea, two memory chip manufacturers, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which together account for about half of the KOSPI index's market value, saw intraday declines of 7.4% and 10.1%, respectively, leading to a more than 9% drop in the KOSPI index and triggering a 20-minute trading halt, marking the fourth occurrence of such a situation this year. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index fell over 3.0% during the day, primarily driven down by SoftBank Group and chip manufacturer Kioxia, which dropped 10% and 14%, respectively. Both the KOSPI and Nikkei 225 indices had recently reached multiple historical highs, largely benefiting from market optimism about artificial intelligence, progress in US-Iran peace talks, and expectations of tightening monetary policy by the Bank of Japan. Investors continued to flock to the memory chip sector, which is considered one of the most profitable products globally, with demand expected to remain strong in the short term. On Monday, SK Hynix surpassed Samsung to become the most valuable company in South Korea, having joined the AI chip frenzy in May and successfully entering the elite club of companies with a market capitalization of $1 trillion. The surge in stock prices has made them more susceptible to volatility, and analysts warn that their valuations are at high levels, facing risks from the cyclical fluctuations in the semiconductor industry.
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