Did You Even Say Gamsahabnida?

The South Korean KOSPI Index has been red-hot this year, mostly due to favorable corporate governance reforms and, of course, monstrous AI-driven demand for chips like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. 

Indeed, the EWY, country ETF for South Korea, surged roughly 40% in this early part of 2026 alone. 

As you can see on the EWY weekly chart, below, the green candles piled up week after week this winter. 

Today, however, the KOSPI experienced one of its worst sessions in history, complete with a circuit breaker. While South Korea remains up significantly this year and especially since early-2025, we are seeing the first bearish RSI weekly chart cross (bottom pane of chart) in a good while.

The Iran conflict is clearly a wildcard. But even if Iran had never been a major headline it is likely that tech stocks, AI chips, and the KOSPI were ripe to unravel their remarkably steep trends on all timeframes. As I have said over the years, sometimes the perceived catalyst for a move is actually just an excuse to make the long overdue move. 

And that is even more the case should oil and gasoline hold these breakouts, despite how many folks (especially the White House) try to talk oil prices back down. This is a multi-year breakout in crude and gasoline. And, once again, the Iran headlines, while obviously significant, may ultimately prove to be excuse energy bulls needed to get these consolidations in the rear view mirror.