South Korea’s First Rate Hike in Three and a Half Years: Korean Stock Declines Widen, KOSPI Slumps Over 6%, SK Hynix Plunges Over 11%

TradingKey - The Bank of Korea's rate hike announcement triggered a stock market selloff, sending the KOSPI down 6%, with Samsung Electronics falling over 8% and SK Hynix tumbling over 11%.

During early Asian trading hours on July 16, the Bank of Korea (BOK) convened its Monetary Policy Board, officially announcing a 25-basis-point increase in its benchmark interest rate to 2.75%. This is South Korea's first rate hike in three and a half years since January 2023, signaling an official end to its prolonged monetary easing freeze and the restart of its tightening cycle.

Following the announcement, panic immediately flared up in the financial markets, driving South Korean stocks lower. The KOSPI Index saw its losses widen from a 4% drop at the open to 6.48%, trading at 6,812.41 points. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics fell 8.23% to 256,500 won, and SK Hynix plummeted 11.53% to 1,842,000 won.

KOSPI Index Chart, Source: TradingView

Yesterday, South Korean stocks surged over 7% on cooling U.S. inflation, even triggering an intraday circuit breaker for buy orders. Today, however, with the rate hike finally materializing, the stock market has given back yesterday's gains. Yet, this may only be a new beginning, and panic could continue to spread.