KOSPI Slides 1.4% Below 5,500 as Foreign Selling Hits Seoul Stocks Ahead of SK Hynix and Samsung Earnings

South Korea’s KOSPI slid 1.45% below 5,500 to close at 5,469.59 on Monday, as foreign selling erased an early rebound and investors waited for earnings from memory chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. In the final minutes, the index stood at 5,472.92, down 77.38 points. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ fell more than 2% by late morning. Foreign investors sold a net 362.1 billion won (about $274 million) of KOSPI shares. Analysts cited the “disappearance of the buffer” from Samsung and SK Hynix share buybacks and said markets are pricing a 35% to 51% earnings decline.