Market Gravity: KOSPI Plummets 8%, Dragging Down the Global AI Rally

The euphoria surrounding artificial intelligence has collided harshly with macroeconomic reality. On June 8, 2026, the global tech stock market experienced a massive pullback. The epicenter of the crash was South Korea: the national KOSPI index plummeted by more than 8%, triggering a chain reaction across other exchanges.

The panic was triggered by strong US employment data, which heightened expectations of an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve (Fed). Investors immediately began dumping overheated assets, and Korean semiconductor manufacturers—Samsung and SK Hynix (which recently celebrated joining the trillion-dollar club)—were the first to take the hit. This crash proves a fundamental rule: no matter how disruptive Agentic AI is, the physical infrastructure for it is built on borrowed money. Expensive credit sobers up Wall Street, forcing funds to lock in profits and revise multiples for AI giants.

Source: Reuters / Financial Times