In currency trading, the South Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar (UUP) to levels not seen since 2009. The country’s currency traded at 1,539.1, re-visiting a level not seen since March 9, 2009.
South Korea faced a sell-off in the technology and semiconductor sector. After Broadcom (AVGO) shares fell by 12.6% on Thursday, it triggered a drop in shares of Samsung (SSNLF) and SK Hynix. The Kospi Index fell by 5.54% on the day to close at 8,160.59. The index is up by 190.2% in the last year, so the daily decline is considered relatively small.
Should a tech rout accelerate on Nasdaq (QQQ), panic selling might follow in South Korea. The country benefited from memory prices soaring by around fivefold in the last year. Demanding their share of the profits, Samsung workers threatened to strike. Fortunately, the company agreed with its union members to pay annual bonuses. That is worth around $370,000 per employee.
In Thursday’s markets, Ciena (CIEN) fell by nearly 14% after it posted strong quarterly results. CIEN stock gained 633% in the last year. Micron Technology (MU) lost 7.74% to close below $1,000 (at $996). MU stock gained over 830% in a year.
Investors snapped up shares of Humana (HUM), Blackstone (BX), and Robinhood (HOOD). Those stocks gained between 6.6% and 7.5%.
