멈춰버린 증시, '블랙 먼데이'가 던진 경고장 > K-wave Trends

The trigger for this plunge was the combination of a correction in the global semiconductor sector and bad news from the United States. The New York stock market closed down last weekend due to fears of an interest rate hike following strong employment indicators, which dealt a direct blow to the domestic market. Investment sentiment was already frozen even before the opening, with the Nasdaq falling more than 4% and the S&P 500 and Dow falling one after another. This global uncertainty led to a sharp decline in domestic semiconductor majors Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which soon led to an uncontrollable 8% plunge in the KOSPI index.

At 9:03 a.m., the KOSPI index plunged more than 8% compared to the previous day, and a 'stage 1 circuit breaker' was activated in the stock market. The circuit breaker is a device introduced to calm the overheated selling trend in the market. It is a powerful defense mechanism that temporarily suspends all trading for 20 minutes when triggered. At that time, the KOSPI was threatened to reach the 7,400 mark and quickly collapsed below the 8,000 mark, and even trading in the futures and options markets stopped, effectively paralyzing the entire market. This went beyond a simple technical decline and became a symbolic scene that imprinted the fear of a sell-off on everyone involved in the market.

While KOSPI was halted, the KOSDAQ market also had to activate another safety device called a selling sidecar. Due to rapid fluctuations in the KOSDAQ 150 futures and spot indices, the program sell price effect was suspended for 5 minutes. This measure, which reappeared about two weeks after the 22nd of last month, proves that market anxiety is not limited to specific stocks but is penetrating the entire market. With the KOSDAQ index pushed below the 1,000 mark and the value of investors' assets instantly evaporating, the market was engaged in a desperate struggle to prevent further panic selling.

Another detonator of this ‘Black Monday’ was the sharp fluctuations in the exchange rate market. The won-versus-dollar exchange rate began trading at its highest level since the global financial crisis, accelerating the exodus of foreign investors. Foreigners, who had continued to be net sellers for 20 consecutive trading days, once again poured out hundreds of billions of won worth of items for sale, fueling the decline in the stock market. Doubts about corporate fundamentals and macroeconomic uncertainty are intertwined, and a vicious cycle in which a rise in exchange rates causes a decline in stock prices, which in turn causes an outflow of foreign capital, has become clear.

Even after the circuit breaker was lifted, market tensions did not easily subside. As soon as trading resumed, selling sidecars followed, and the market was confused, unable to find direction amid extreme volatility. Even in the process of resubmitting bids through the single price processing method, the buying trend disappeared, and market participants felt the fear of further declines rather than the opportunity to buy at low prices. Although policy safety measures can physically stop the market, the critical view is gaining ground that it is not enough to calm the fundamental instability of the market.