Nikkei sinks over 2% as yen surges, KOSPI slumps 4% on chip selloff
Monday's session highlights two distinct but simultaneously unfolding regional risk stories. In Tokyo, the confirmed joint US-Japan intervention has driven a sharp yen appreciation that is directly pressuring export-heavy names, with automakers among the hardest hit on concerns over deteriorating overseas profitability once translated back into a stronger currency. That dynamic is likely to persist as long as the yen holds its gains, keeping exporter-heavy indices under pressure even as importers stand to benefit from cheaper input costs. In Seoul, the renewed slide in Samsung and SK Hynix, which together account for more than half of the KOSPI's weighting, reflects lingering doubts about AI-related valuations and hyperscaler spending sustainability, despite both companies reporting strong earnings just last week. The scale of July's 22% KOSPI drawdown, its worst month since the 2008 financial crisis, suggests sentiment around AI-linked semiconductor names remains fragile and prone to sharp reversals even on strong fundamental news, a pattern traders will want to watch closely heading into the rest of the week.
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A firmer yen is squeezing Japanese exporters just as renewed doubts over AI chip demand drag South Korea's market lower again.
Summary:
- Japan's Nikkei 225 fell more than 2.5% intraday Monday, briefly losing over 1,600 points, after confirmed joint US-Japan yen-buying intervention conducted Friday pushed the currency sharply higher
- The dollar fell from around 160.20 yen Friday afternoon to briefly below 156 yen Monday morning, its weakest levels in around three months
- Export-oriented Japanese stocks, including automakers, were sold on concerns that a stronger yen would hurt overseas profitability, while large importers stand to benefit from cheaper costs
- The Nikkei has now fallen around 12.9% from its 2026 peak
- South Korea's KOSPI fell more than 4% Monday, giving back much of Friday's earnings-driven relief rally after plunging 22% in July, its worst month since the 2008 financial crisis
- Samsung Electronics fell about 8% and SK Hynix lost more than 7%, despite both companies reporting strong quarterly earnings last week, as investors remained concerned that AI-driven demand expectations had become overstretched
Japanese and South Korean equities fell sharply on Monday, though for markedly different reasons, as a stronger yen weighed on Tokyo's export-heavy market while renewed doubts over artificial intelligence valuations dragged down Seoul's chip-dominated benchmark.
Japan's Nikkei 225 briefly shed more than 1,600 points, falling as much as 2.58% intraday, after confirmation that Japanese and US authorities had conducted coordinated yen-buying intervention on Friday, US Eastern time. The dollar weakened sharply against the yen as a result, moving from around 160.20 yen late Friday afternoon in Tokyo to briefly below 156 yen by mid-morning Monday, its lowest level in roughly three months. An official at a Japanese securities house said export-oriented stocks, particularly automakers, were sold on concerns that the stronger currency would erode profitability on overseas sales once converted back into yen. The index has now fallen close to 13% from its high earlier this year. A stronger yen carries mixed implications across corporate Japan: large importers benefit from cheaper costs to bring goods into the country, while exporters such as Toyota and Honda typically see their products become more expensive and less competitive abroad, weighing on their share prices.
In South Korea, the KOSPI fell more than 4%, extending losses after its worst monthly performance since the 2008 global financial crisis, as investors resumed selling the market's two dominant semiconductor names. Samsung Electronics dropped about 8% and SK Hynix lost more than 7%, erasing much of the relief rally the two stocks had staged on Friday following their latest earnings reports. Together, the two memory-chip makers account for more than half of the KOSPI's total weighting, leaving the broader index highly exposed to swings in sentiment around AI-related demand. The renewed selling comes after the index plunged 22% in July alone, a decline driven by concerns over AI valuations, slowing hyperscaler spending and heavy retail investor positioning that together produced one of the sharpest corrections the market has seen in decades.
The selloff came despite strong underlying results from both companies. Samsung reported a more than 250-fold jump in semiconductor operating profit and announced multi-year supply agreements with major data-centre operators, while warning that global memory shortages could persist through 2028. SK Hynix also posted record quarterly earnings. Even so, investors appeared unconvinced that the strength in results was enough to offset broader concerns that expectations for AI-driven chip demand had run ahead of what the sector can sustainably deliver, a scepticism that continues to leave both stocks, and the wider KOSPI, vulnerable to sharp swings even on strong earnings news.
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.提供 MainLink：Investinglive RSS Breaking News Feed
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