Lana

European and U.S.

stock markets, by contrast, have held up relatively well, helped by news of potential political negotiations.

The KOSPI index, South Korea's main one, had risen 150% over the last year, making it the world's best performer.

Heck, even after this bad day at the office, it's still boasting the biggest uptick of 2026.

But that rally largely rested on superstar Korean chip makers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which together make up around 40% of the index.

And when the war headlines spread, those AI-linked stocks were some of the first to go.

See, when traders bought into those two stocks, a lot of them used borrowed money and leverage, which can multiply your gains, but also your losses.

So once the shares started to fall, they were in a rush to unwind those leveraged positions before any losses could snowball.

On top of that, South Korea buys most of its energy from the Middle East.

So the jump in oil and gas prices quickly sparked worries about higher costs, and in turn, lower profit margins for businesses, turning the wobble into a proper shake.

Before we dive into the next story, it's time for our daily check-in with Carl.

You've got questions, he's got answers.

Carl, what have you got for us?

Thanks, Carl.

Next up...

Fresh survey data suggested that the global economy is on the right track, at least for now.

A country's purchasing managers index, PMI, everybody's favorite read, tracks how busy its businesses are.

A reading above 50 means growth, while anything below suggests shrinkage.

China's monthly reading slipped to 49 in February, the lowest since October.

Though in fairness, many of the country's factories were closed over the Lunar New Year holiday.