South Korea’s Kospi index fell nearly 8% in early trading on Wednesday, marking one of the steepest single-day declines in recent memory.
The sharp drop was driven by a broad-based sell-off in technology and semiconductor stocks, as investors reassessed the durability of artificial intelligence demand amid growing skepticism about near-term revenue visibility.
The selloff intensified pressure on emerging-market assets and tech-heavy indices globally, following a similar rout on Friday that saw the Kospi break below the 8,000 level.
Market participants are increasingly concerned that the rapid pace of AI infrastructure investment may be outpacing actual commercial adoption, leading to a repricing of growth expectations across the sector.
This development follows a period of heightened volatility in global equity markets, where investor anxiety over AI sustainability has spread from South Korean exchanges to broader emerging-market assets.
The decline reflects a shift in sentiment from optimism about long-term AI potential to caution regarding short-term earnings delivery.