TradingKey - Japan markets closed for holiday; South Korean stocks open lower but climb, KOSPI edges down, Samsung Electronics and SK reverse losses to trade higher.

During the Asian session on July 20, Japanese stock markets were closed for the 'Marine Day' holiday. Meanwhile, South Korean stock markets, which opened normally, continued their recent black swan selloff, suffering a bloody plunge after the opening bell. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gapped significantly lower at the open, at one point falling over 4% to test around 6,523.62 points. It has since pared its losses to 0.54% and is currently trading at 6,783.97 points.

KOSPI Index Chart, Source: TradingView

Similar to the KOSPI index opening sharply lower before rebounding, South Korea's two semiconductor giants, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, followed a similar pattern today. Specifically, Samsung Electronics fell below 250,000 won at the open, a decline of over 4%, but is currently up 0.2% at 255,500 won; SK Hynix fell below the 1.8 million won mark at the open, dropping over 5%, but has now reversed losses to gain 2.17%, currently trading at 1,882,000 won.

Last Friday, the South Korean stock market temporarily avoided the market crash due to a holiday closure. Although it suffered a severe blow at today's open, it quickly rebounded, reflecting that the market's panic selling has been largely released and has now eased. This week, the key focus will be on the successive earnings reports from Google ( GOOG ), Intel ( INTC ), IBM ( IBM) and other AI companies. If their AI capital expenditure remains strong, the demand for advanced memory and profit margins of Samsung and SK Hynix are expected to continue receiving substantial support.

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