The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) plunged at the opening on July 2, with the stock market reporting 7,933.10 points, down 370.31 points from the previous trading day, breaking below the 8,000-point integer mark; nine minutes after the opening, the sell-sidecar mechanism was triggered. News that Meta plans to sell off remaining computing resources from its internal AI data center has raised concerns about a slowdown in AI infrastructure investment growth.
KOSPI Opening Trend: Down 4.46%, Sell-Sidecar Triggered 9 Minutes After Open
KOSPI opened at 7,933.10 points, down 370.31 points (4.46%) from the previous trading day, breaking below the 8,000-point integer mark. Semiconductor blue chips faced forced selling, with sell orders flooding in during the early opening, triggering the sell-sidecar mechanism nine minutes after the open, temporarily suspending the execution of some program sell orders.
KOSDAQ opened at 904.53 points during the same period, down 24.82 points (2.67%); foreign investors were net sellers, while individual and institutional investors were net buyers.
Foreign and Individual Investor Fund Flows: Foreign Net Sell 900 Billion KRW, Individual Net Buy 800 Billion KRW
In the early morning trading session on the main board, foreign investors net sold nearly 900 billion KRW; individual investors net bought nearly 800 billion KRW to absorb, but failed to stop KOSPI from continuing to decline. Panic spread in the market, with sell orders pouring in, and the largest semiconductor-related stocks by market cap all fell amid the forced selling wave.
US Individual Stocks Previous Day: Micron and SanDisk Both Down Over 10%, Software Tech Stocks Rose Against the Trend
On the previous trading day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 52,305.24 points (down 0.03%), the S&P 500 closed at 7,483.23 points (down 0.22%); the Nasdaq also fell (specific closing data subject to official announcement). The semiconductor sector led the decline, with key stocks and tech stocks moving as follows:
SanDisk (SNDK): Down 10.62%
Micron Technology (MU): Down 10.57%
Intel (INTC): Down 9.03%
AMD: Down 6.89%
NVIDIA (NVDA): Down 1.25%
Meta (META): Up 8.80%
Microsoft (MSFT): Up 2.84%
Apple (AAPL): Up 2.66%
Meta Cloud Business News and Michael Burry Short Selling
Bloomberg reported that Meta is aggressively pushing its cloud business and plans to sell its internal AI data center's remaining computing resources to external companies; since Meta is one of the main investors in AI data center construction, the market interpreted this move as a signal of slowing growth in AI infrastructure investment, adding to selling pressure in the semiconductor sector.
Additionally, news that investor Michael Burry, who predicted the US subprime mortgage crisis and was the inspiration for the film The Big Short, is shorting semiconductor stocks has put additional downward pressure on US and Korean semiconductor stocks. According to reports from CNBC and other foreign media on June 30, 2026 (local time), Michael Burry, citing large-scale investment plans by Korean memory companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, stated: "The direct reason for today's stock price rise is the massive spending announced by Korea," adding, "I think this is the beginning of the end; the bubble bursting is only a matter of time."
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the direct cause of KOSPI falling below 8,000 points on July 2, 2026?
According to market reports, the direct trigger was the massive sell-off in the US semiconductor sector the previous day, set against the backdrop of Meta's plan to sell its internal AI data center's remaining computing resources, which raised concerns about slowing AI infrastructure investment growth; news of Michael Burry shorting semiconductors was also reported as an additional pressure factor.
What is the KOSPI sell-sidecar mechanism, and when was it triggered this time?
The sidecar is a program trading suspension mechanism in the Korean stock market, triggered when a large number of program sell orders appear in the market, temporarily suspending the execution of some sell orders. On July 2, 2026, KOSPI triggered the sell-sidecar mechanism nine minutes after the opening.
What were the fund flows of foreign and individual investors during this KOSPI decline?
During the early morning trading session on the main board, foreign investors net sold nearly 900 billion KRW; individual investors net bought nearly 800 billion KRW to absorb; on KOSDAQ, both individual and institutional investors were net buyers. Individual buying failed to stop the KOSPI index from continuing to fall.
