South Korea's KOSPI Falls 3.73% After Brief Rebound From 7.57% Rout

South Korean stocks surrendered their brief recovery on Oct. 20 as the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 3.73%, leaving it below the closing level reached after a 7.57% rout five days earlier.

The benchmark lost 215.27 points to finish at 5,552.74 at 2:30 a.m. ET (06:30 UTC). Its Oct. 15 close was 5,554.22, just 1.48 points higher. The latest slide followed gains of 2.05% on Oct. 16 and 1.76% on Oct. 19.

Selling extended to major semiconductor shares. Samsung Electronics lost 2.98%, while SK hynix shed 4.23%. The KOSDAQ, a second South Korean stock index, declined 3.33% to 781.97. Foreign and institutional investors were net sellers, while individual investors were net buyers.

Questions about returns on heavy artificial intelligence spending have weighed on chip shares, alongside pressure from higher U.S. Treasury yields. During the Oct. 15 selloff, trading halted for 20 minutes after the KOSPI's intraday loss exceeded 8%.