KOSPI Moves With Nasdaq 100 as Investors Track AI Sentiment

Global fund managers are increasingly viewing South Korea's stock market as a leading indicator for AI investment sentiment as its link with U.S. technology shares strengthens. According to Odaily, traders now routinely watch Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix before the market opens.

Data showed the 60-day correlation between the KOSPI and the Nasdaq 100 rose to 0.46, close to a two-year high and about three times the five-year average of 0.16. The Nasdaq's sensitivity to Korean stocks has also increased during market declines, with the measure reaching its highest level since 1990 on the 7th of this month.

The KOSPI fell nearly 9% on the 13th of this month on worries about AI demand, while SK Hynix's ADR dropped more than 9% and weighed on the broader U.S. semiconductor sector. JPMorgan Asset Management and PineBridge said global investors now use the Korean market to gauge risk appetite for AI stocks and continue tracking SK Hynix ADRs and related ETFs after the Korean market closes.

Tigris Financial Partners Chief Investment Officer Ivan Feinseth said the Korean market, together with the Nasdaq and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, has become a key reference for global tech-stock volatility. He added that Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and the KOSPI are now a premarket indicator of risk appetite in U.S. AI and semiconductor markets.

Since June's high, the KOSPI has fallen 25%, erasing about $1 trillion in market value. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have both dropped more than 30% from their peaks, and leveraged trading has amplified market swings. Korea's stock market has become one of the most volatile among major global indexes.