South Korea’s KOSPI Briefly Falls 5.23% as Chip Stocks Slide

South Korean stocks fell sharply Wednesday evening in U.S. trading, with the KOSPI briefly down 5.23% as investors weighed whether political shifts in Washington and Texas could slow data-center investment and orders for chip suppliers.

The index opened 1.82% lower Thursday in Seoul, then dropped more than 5% within an hour. At 9 p.m. ET Wednesday (11 a.m. Thursday in Seoul), it stood at 5,467.19, down 3.81%. The Korea Exchange activated a sell-sidecar at 8:16 p.m. ET, temporarily pausing program-trading sell orders.

At 8:28-8:29 p.m. ET, SK Hynix shares were down 8.52% and Samsung Electronics had lost 6.19%. Foreign investors were net sellers, while individual investors were net buyers.

The move followed a split session on Wall Street: the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3.03% and the S&P 500 gained 1.58% Wednesday, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 3.13%. Micron dropped 7% and Nvidia fell 3.17%.

Concern centered on Democrats taking both chambers in the Nov. 3 midterm elections and Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa’s campaign pledge to pause data-center approvals until state lawmakers pass protections for residents. Hinojosa has not taken office, and the pause remains a campaign proposal.