A broad sell-off in major technology stocks drove sharp losses across global equity markets on 23 June 2026, with South Korea's Kospi index falling 10% from its recent record high in its worst single session since March 2020. The decline spread from Asian markets to Europe and weighed on US equity futures. Semiconductor companies Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix led losses on the Kospi, while AI-related valuation concerns were cited as a driver of the broader selling pressure across tech-heavy indices.
Nasdaq futures declined alongside the Kospi as the sell-off extended across regions. Bloomberg Markets reported that Nasdaq 100 constituents lost approximately $1.3 trillion in combined market capitalisation over a two-day period ending 24 June 2026, with names including Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet, and Meta among those affected.
The Kospi, South Korea's primary equity index, fell 10% on the session, with semiconductor manufacturers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix registering the steepest declines as leading constituents of the index and major suppliers to the global AI chip supply chain. Nasdaq futures (NQ) and the broader S&P 500 index (SPX) declined in tandem, reflecting the tech-heavy composition of both benchmarks and their exposure to the same AI-driven names under selling pressure.
Morgan Stanley commented on the Kospi decline, stating the market was not experiencing a fundamental breakdown despite the severity of the session's losses. No official regulatory or government response to the sell-off was reported in the cluster sources.
Sources: Cnbc TOP, Finnhub, Bloomberg Markets, Guardian Business, Marketwatch TOP