Samsung Electronics reclaims market cap crown from SK Hynix after just one day

Samsung Electronics reclaimed the top spot in market capitalization from SK Hynix after just one day, as both chipmakers' share prices tumbled sharply Tuesday — with SK Hynix falling by a wider margin. The Kospi was pushed down to the 8,500 range.

According to Korea Exchange, the Kospi stood at 8,546.20 as of 1:50 p.m. Tuesday, down 6.24%.

The index opened down 0.34% from the previous session at 9,083.54, briefly rebounded, then reversed course and extended its losses. At one point during trading, the Kospi fell as low as 8,511.14.

The share prices of South Korea's two largest chipmakers, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, both declined Tuesday, weighing on the broader Kospi.

As of the same time, Samsung Electronics was down 6.51% at 330,500 won ($215), while SK Hynix was trading 8.87% lower at 2.66 million won.

Samsung Electronics' market cap stood at 1,932 trillion won, putting it back ahead of SK Hynix at 1,896 trillion won to reclaim the No. 1 position.

SK Hynix had overtaken Samsung Electronics in market cap the previous day for the first time in more than 25 years and seven months. However, SK Hynix's steeper decline Tuesday reversed the ranking once again.

All 10 of the top market cap stocks were in the red, including SK Square, Samsung Electronics preferred shares, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Hyundai Motor, Samsung Life, LG Energy Solution, Samsung C&T and HD Hyundai Heavy, in addition to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

The Kosdaq fell 5.87% to 911.51 Tuesday. Top Kosdaq-listed stocks by market cap — including Alteogen, Ecopro BM, Ecopro, Rainbow Robotics and Jusung Engineering — also declined across the board.

With both markets plunging sharply during the session, sell-side program trading curbs, known as sidecars, were triggered in succession.

It was the first time sell-side sidecars were activated simultaneously on both the main bourse and the Kosdaq since June 8.

At around 11:37:50 a.m., a sell-side sidecar was triggered on the Kosdaq due to sharp moves in the Kosdaq 150 futures price and the spot index, halting sell-side program trading orders for five minutes.

At the time of activation, the Kosdaq 150 futures price stood at 1,667.80, down 106.70 points, or 6.01%, from the previous session's closing price. The Kosdaq 150 spot index was at 1,653.67, down 93.26 points, or 5.33%.

A Kosdaq sidecar is triggered when the Kosdaq 150 futures price falls 6 percent or more from its reference price and the Kosdaq 150 index simultaneously drops 3 percent or more from the previous trading session's closing level, with both conditions persisting for at least one minute.

Shortly after, at 11:40:44 a.m., a sell-side sidecar was also triggered on the main bourse due to a sharp move in the KOSPI 200 futures index, likewise halting sell-side program trading orders for five minutes.

At the time of activation, the KOSPI 200 futures index stood at 1,407.54, down 76.06 points, or 5.12%, from the previous session's close.

A sell-side sidecar on the main bourse is triggered when the KOSPI 200 futures index falls 5 percent or more and that decline persists for at least one minute.