South Korea's Kospi Falls 8 Percent to 6,886, Halts Trading, Yet Remains 2026's Top Major Index

South Korea's Kospi index plunged 8 percent, or 589 points, to 6,886 on Monday, triggering a trading halt amid escalating conflict in the Gulf and Iran's claim that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices rose sharply on the developments, pushing the U.S. dollar and bond yields higher as investors priced in greater odds of another Federal Reserve interest-rate increase.

The move came one day before Chair Kevin Warsh is scheduled to testify before Congress for the first time since taking office. SK Hynix slumped more than 13 percent and Samsung Electronics dropped more than 9 percent in the session. The two companies together represent nearly half the Kospi's market weight.

The decline pushed the index more than 25 percent below its June peak and into technical bear-market territory, a level it had briefly touched the prior week. South Korea's equity market had already fallen nearly 8 percent in the previous week. Even after the drop, the Kospi remains the world's best-performing major stock index in 2026, up 63 percent year to date.

Consensus earnings estimates for Kospi-listed companies have been raised for 17 consecutive months.