South Korean equities fell sharply on Thursday, closing down nearly 8% and hitting a more than three-week low, dragged down by a global sell-off in semiconductor stocks. The decline was triggered by concerns over potential AI capacity oversupply, sparked by Meta Platforms, Inc.'s plans to sell computing power.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 655.32 points, or 7.89%, to finish at 7,648.09, marking its lowest closing level since June 8.

Among the major index constituents, chipmaker Samsung Electronics Co Ltd plunged 9.06%, while peer SK Hynix Inc tumbled 14.57%. Battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution Ltd rose 1.72%. Hyundai Motor Co fell 1.13% and its affiliate Kia Corp gained 2.61%. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings Inc advanced 0.79% and pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics Co Ltd increased 0.72%.

Meta Platforms, Inc. is building a cloud business to sell its surplus AI computing capacity.

Of the 916 stocks traded, 280 rose and 616 declined.

Foreign investors were net sellers of KOSPI shares, offloading 4,370.789 billion won.