Correction and editorial revision — 23 October 2026: This retrospective replaces the earlier mixed-time narrative with dated provider observations. A Korean index observation did not establish the performance or capital flows of all Asian markets. The earlier causal explanations and trading implications are withdrawn; their removal is not a finding that every cited event was false. The original input file is unavailable. The cutoff below is the calendar day before the original publication date, selected for this reconstruction; it is not a claim about what was known when the original article was written.
This archive review uses observations available in the retrieved daily history on or before 2026-05-25. Each market has its own closing time. The question is: How Did Korea Compare With the US Benchmarks?
The measured comparison
KOSPI moved from 7,815.59 on 2026-05-21 to 7,847.71 on 2026-05-22: +0.41%. Its five-observation-interval return from 2026-05-15 was +4.73%. The last-day return and the longer-window return answer different questions; neither identifies a sector contribution. KOSPI history.
The S&P 500 returned +0.37% over 2026-05-21–2026-05-22, and the Nasdaq returned +0.19% over 2026-05-21–2026-05-22. The Korean daily percentage change minus the Nasdaq daily change is +0.22 percentage points. This is a comparison of separately timed intervals, not an estimate of how Korea reacted to that later US session. No broad emerging-market index was collected.
Reproducing the longer comparison
For KOSPI, the five-interval baseline is 7,493.18 on 2026-05-15; the endpoint is 7,847.71 on 2026-05-22. The calculation is (endpoint ÷ baseline − 1) × 100 = +4.73%. This uses the endpoints directly rather than adding rounded daily percentages. Five observations need not correspond to one calendar week when a market is closed.
Source-linked daily observations
| Series | Previous date | Previous value | Date | Value | Change | Time zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOSPI (^KS11) | 2026-05-21 | 7,815.59 | 2026-05-22 | 7,847.71 | +0.41% | Asia/Seoul |
| S&P 500 (^GSPC) | 2026-05-21 | 7,445.72 | 2026-05-22 | 7,473.47 | +0.37% | America/New_York |
| Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) | 2026-05-21 | 26,293.10 | 2026-05-22 | 26,343.97 | +0.19% | America/New_York |
| US 10-year yield proxy (^TNX) | 2026-05-21 | 4.586 | 2026-05-22 | 4.558 | -2.8 bp | America/Chicago |
| WTI futures (CL=F) | 2026-05-21 | 96.35 | 2026-05-22 | 96.60 | +0.26% | America/New_York |
| Gold futures (GC=F) | 2026-05-21 | 4,542.50 | 2026-05-22 | 4,523.20 | -0.42% | America/New_York |
| USD/KRW (USDKRW=X) | 2026-05-22 | 1,504.40 | 2026-05-25 | 1,512.83 | +0.56% | Europe/London |
| USD/JPY (USDJPY=X) | 2026-05-22 | 159.02 | 2026-05-25 | 158.95 | -0.05% | Europe/London |
| VIX (^VIX) | 2026-05-22 | 16.70 | 2026-05-25 | 16.59 | -0.66% | America/Chicago |
Scope and limitations
Returns are calculated before rounding from Yahoo Finance daily history, not independently verified exchange settlement records. Index values are in points; the yield proxy is quoted in percent; currency quotes are local units per US dollar; gold and WTI futures are dollars per ounce and barrel. Futures-series changes can reflect contract rolls and are not a continuously held contract’s investment return. These are retrospective observations, not live prices or a reconstruction of every intraday quote available to the original author.
For the underlying method, see the trading-session and return guide. This page retains its original address for correction transparency. The title and text now reflect the narrower evidence available; the old URL wording should not be treated as a current claim. No trading instruction is retained.
