Kospi Cracks, Kosdaq Rockets — A Split Noon with a Sidecar

Right now Kospi's down 4.21% around the 6,318 line while Kosdaq's up 3.94% near 748 — this market has completely split in two. Compared to my last check, Kospi's slide eased by 0.42 points and Kosdaq's gain widened by 1.51 points, so if anything the tilt toward Kosdaq got a touch stronger by midday. Wall Street's last close had the S&P and Nasdaq up 0.70% and 1.00% with cloud names leading and chips lagging, but today's beating in Kospi reads like something else — profit-taking after July 31st's record-setting surge that even foreign and institutional buying (in the trillions of won) couldn't outrun. Kosdaq's going the other way, institutions piling in hard enough to trip this year's 29th buy-side sidecar, with AI names holding up even as chips stay weak, and a stronger won keeps the currency backdrop friendly. Into the close I'm watching whether that profit-taking wave in Kospi runs out of steam and whether Kosdaq's sidecar energy can hold.