#非农数据超预期加息预期升温

The recent market plunge is a concentrated release of Korea's stock market structural imbalance. Nearly three-quarters of the KOSPI index's gains were contributed by Samsung and SK Hynix, which together hold a 54% weight in the index, making it a single channel for global capital to bet on AI computing power. Foreign investors sold over $10 billion worth of Korean stocks net in the past week, a trend that had already emerged by the end of May when, due to reaching the single-stock holding limit, funds like GAM Investment were forced to reduce their holdings in Samsung and Hynix.
The key detail lies in the stubbornness of leverage. Although broker deposits (cash buffers) decreased from 137 trillion won to 121 trillion won between May 12 and 22, margin balances rose to a record 38 trillion won on May 29. This indicates that retail investors did not actively de-leverage at high index levels but instead relied on less cash to support larger risk exposures, making the market structure extremely fragile. When foreign capital withdrawal coincided with profit-taking in the semiconductor industry, the amplified sell-off due to high leverage triggered a systemic circuit breaker.
On June 8, today, the Korean stock market continued its decline from Friday, dropping over 8% shortly after opening and hitting a circuit breaker before trading was halted. Reports indicate that the Korea Exchange held an emergency meeting on Monday to assess the increasing market volatility and discuss measures to ensure market stability.
Data shows that while the KOSPI index hit a record high last week, foreign investors have been withdrawing, net selling over $10 billion worth of KOSPI stocks in just the past week. The selling pressure also impacted the Korean won, with the USD/KRW exchange rate reaching its lowest level since March 2009.
Additionally, Korea Exchange data shows that driven by AI-powered chip demand, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix account for up to 54% of the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), with average daily trading volume in May accounting for about half of the index. Nearly three-quarters of the KOSPI's gains this year came from these two companies. When the benchmark index hit a record high last Tuesday, only 2.6% of stocks reached a 52-week high, while 31% fell to a 52-week low.
The astonishing gains have fueled a continued rise in retail leverage. $BTC