South Korean stocks close down 3.

Korea's KOSPI index closed down 210.29 points, or 3.59%, at 5,648.79 on Tuesday, November 3, with chip heavyweights leading the decline as SK Hynix fell 5.02% and Samsung Electronics dropped 4.14%. The broad-based selloff in Korea's benchmark index, driven by its largest semiconductor constituents, signals renewed pressure on the memory-chip sector that has anchored this year's rally in Korean equities. Given the KOSPI's heavy weighting toward Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, weakness in the pair often reflects shifting sentiment on global semiconductor demand and memory pricing. Markets will watch whether the decline extends to other Asian chip-exposed indices and whether Korean semiconductor names stabilize in subsequent sessions.