Japanese stocks fall into bear market, Korean stocks close down 6% after emergency "market rescue"

Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down 3,666.99 points, or 6.00%, at 57,410.91 on Friday, confirming a technical bear market after falling more than 20% from its June closing peak. South Korea’s KOSPI fell 324.15 points, or 6.02%, to 5,059.65 after an early drop of more than 8% below the 5,000 level triggered its 11th circuit breaker this year. Seoul convened an emergency market review meeting, helping narrow the KOSPI’s losses, while the KOSDAQ closed down 5%. SK Hynix fell more than 10% and Samsung Electronics dropped 6.35%, underscoring heavy pressure on major chip names. The scale of the selloff and the circuit-breaker trigger matter for regional risk sentiment and semiconductor-heavy exposure. Next, watch whether Korean authorities announce further stabilization measures and whether Japanese equities extend losses below bear-market levels.