Kospi falls 4.5% as Asian technology stocks retreat on October 30
Key Facts
South Korea’s Kospi fell 4.5% in the October 30 session as technology shares across the region declined after results from major companies accelerated a retreat from AI-linked trades, Reuters reported. In the same session, Taiwan’s benchmark index fell 2.5%. The Kospi closed at 5,730.74 points on October 30, according to EL7 data, after closing at 5,937.66 points the previous day. Closing data show a decline between the two sessions, while Reuters attributed the session’s drop to pressure on technology stocks. The decline included South Korean semiconductor companies, as investors focused on their results and outlooks.
Reuters said disappointing earnings from major technology companies accelerated a retreat from AI trades, as the emerging-market index in Asia fell 2.5%. South Korea was at the center of the move, with the Kospi down 4.5%, while Taiwan’s index lost 2.5%. The moves reflect regional pressure on technology stocks, rather than a decline confined to one company. The South Korean selloff was not limited to Samsung: shares of rival SK Hynix fell 7.4% during the session, Reuters reported. The market narrative cited by the report linked the weakness in stocks to investors’ assessment of major companies’ results and the course of AI-related trading.
The pressure extended to Samsung Electronics, whose shares fell 5.2% on October 30, Reuters reported. The decline came a day after the company announced that quarterly chip profits had risen 15 times, but investors reacted negatively to its outlook and shareholder-return plans. The report said the company offered no new measures for shareholder returns and that its outlook disappointed investors. This highlights a contrast between the sharp jump in chip profits and investors’ expectations for forward guidance and a shareholder-return policy.
Japan’s Kioxia was another focus of investor concern about the memory sector. Its operating profit under the non-GAAP standard was 1.99 trillion yen in the quarter from July to September, compared with an average forecast of 1.97 trillion yen, according to Investing.com. But the company’s guidance for the October-to-December quarter was 2 trillion yen, below forecasts of 2.32 trillion yen. The company said it expected shipment volumes to remain stable quarter on quarter, with average selling prices rising by a low single-digit percentage. Another report said the stock fell 7.1% to 13,470 yen on October 30, linking the move to earnings guidance below estimates and a moderation in the pace of NAND memory price increases.
The pace of NAND memory selling-price increases slowed in the quarter ended in September to the mid-20s percentage range, compared with a 70% increase in the previous quarter, according to an Investing.com report. This change indicates slower price growth, not a decline, and puts Kioxia’s upcoming guidance in the context of slowing momentum that had supported revenue. Kioxia closed at 13,470 yen on October 30, according to EL7 data, the same price cited by the Investing.com report. EL7 data do not include a stock or index close for November 2, so they do not establish the price moves attributed to that day in the previous draft. The price data available here relate to the October 30 session, when Asian technology stocks fell as investors reassessed the sector’s outlook.
The decline comes ahead of the U.S. federal general election scheduled for Tuesday, November 3, 2026, according to the Federal Election Commission. In the memory sector, Kioxia’s forecast for the October-to-December quarter puts expected operating profit below the average estimate, with shipment volumes expected to remain stable and average selling prices to rise modestly. The published figures for the Asian session relate to October 30, while the available data do not include later closing levels for the Kospi or Kioxia. Technology companies’ results and outlooks were the stated driver of the regional decline that day, according to Reuters. The U.S. election is scheduled for November 3.