Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened sharply lower on July 2, with the stock market reporting 7,933.10 points, down 370.31 points from the previous trading day, breaching the 8,000-point mark; the sell-side Sidecar mechanism was triggered just 9 minutes after the market opened. Meta's plan to sell its remaining computing resources from its internal AI data center has sparked concerns about a slowdown in AI infrastructure investment growth.
KOSPI Opening Performance: Drop of 4.46%, Sell-side 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 threshold. Semiconductor blue-chip stocks faced forced selling, with sell orders flooding in during the early trading session, triggering the sell-side Sidecar mechanism 9 minutes after the open, temporarily halting 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 investors and institutional investors were net buyers.
Foreign and Individual Investor Capital Flows: Foreign Net Selling of 900 Billion Won, Individual Net Buying of 800 Billion Won
During the early trading session on the main board, foreign investors net sold nearly 900 billion won; individual investors net bought nearly 800 billion won to absorb the selling, but failed to stop the continued decline of the KOSPI index. Panic spread through the market, with sell orders continuing to pour in, and the largest market-cap semiconductor-related stocks fell across the board amid the forced selling wave.
U.S. Individual Stock Performance from Previous Day: Micron and SanDisk Both Down Over 10%, Software Tech Stocks Rose Against the Trend
In the previous trading session, 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 declined (specific closing data subject to official announcements). The semiconductor sector led the decline, with key individual stocks and tech stocks performing 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 remaining computing resources from its internal AI data center to external companies; since Meta is one of the major investors in AI data center construction, the market interpreted this move as a signal of slowing growth in AI infrastructure investment, intensifying selling pressure on the semiconductor sector.
Additionally, news that investor Michael Burry, who predicted the US subprime mortgage crisis and was the inspiration for the movie "The Big Short," is shorting semiconductor stocks has added further 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 the large-scale investment plans of Korean memory companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, stated: "The direct reason for today's stock price increase is the massive spending announced by South Korea," and added, "I believe this is the beginning of the end; the bursting of the bubble is only a matter of time."
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the direct reason for KOSPI falling below the 8,000-point mark on July 2, 2026?
According to market reports, the direct trigger was the massive sell-off in the US semiconductor sector the previous trading day, against the backdrop of Meta's plan to sell remaining computing resources from its internal AI data center, which raised concerns about slowing AI infrastructure investment growth; Michael Burry's short selling of semiconductors was also reported as an additional pressure factor.
What is the KOSPI sell-side Sidecar mechanism, and when was it triggered this time?
The Sidecar is a program trading suspension mechanism in the Korean stock market. It is triggered when a large number of program sell orders enter the market, temporarily suspending the execution of some sell orders. On July 2, 2026, the KOSPI sell-side Sidecar mechanism was triggered 9 minutes after the market opened.
What were the capital flows of foreign and individual investors during this KOSPI decline?
During the early trading session on the main board, foreign investors net sold nearly 900 billion won; individual investors net bought nearly 800 billion won to absorb the selling; individual and institutional investors on KOSDAQ were also net buyers. Individual buying failed to stop the continued decline of the KOSPI index.
