South Korea’s KOSPI and KOSDAQ Trigger Stabilization Measures

South Korea’s two benchmark indexes activated market-stabilization measures Thursday as sharp losses in chip and AI infrastructure shares sharpened concern over the effect of U.S. midterm results on data-center investment.

At 1:25 a.m. ET (06:25 UTC), the KOSPI was down 5.5% at 5,371.41, while the KOSDAQ had fallen 5.11% to 678.4. Semiconductor shares fell as much as 9.81%, while power-equipment shares lost as much as 12.84%.

Market anxiety centered on the possibility that the U.S. midterm outcome would bring tougher oversight of data-center approvals, grid connections and electricity costs. Delays in AI data-center projects could postpone cloud providers’ planned spending and weaken expected demand for high-bandwidth memory and DRAM.

Some analysts warned that project delays could also add financing pressure on highly leveraged AI infrastructure companies. Other views held that Democratic gains in Congress might have limited effect on the broader direction of U.S. AI investment, leaving the potential impact uncertain.