South Korea's KOSPI halts trading as Japan's Nikkei enters bear market amid AI chip selloff.

On November 6, 2026, South Korea's KOSPI index plunged 8.52%, triggering a trading halt, while Japan's Nikkei officially entered a bear market with a drop exceeding 20% from its peak. The selloff was driven by fears of costly borrowing and political risks slowing AI data center construction, hitting major memory chip makers like Samsung Electronics and SK hynix hard. Despite some recovery, the concentrated exposure of South Korea's ETF to these chip stocks caused a sharper fall compared to Japan's more diversified ETF. Market officials in both countries acknowledged the volatility but have yet to activate stabilization measures, leaving investors cautious about the near-term outlook.

Despite the sharp selloff in South Korea's KOSPI and Japan's Nikkei noted in the news, on Pluang as of Nov 06, 2026 20:21 WIB, the South Korea ETF (EWY) is up 4.72% at USD 139.25, recovering from its 52-week low of USD 88.53 but still well below its 52-week high of USD 219.20. In contrast, the Japan ETF (EWJ) is slightly down 0.24% at USD 88.05, closer to its 52-week low of USD 79.49 than its high of USD 99.32. This shows a divergence in investor behavior on Pluang, with South Korea seeing more selling activity (80% sell orders) compared to Japan's fully buy-side orders as of the same time.