South Korean shares fall as chipmakers track US tech slump
- The benchmark KOSPI was down 227.68 points, or 4.01%, at 5,459.70
South Korean shares plummeted as chipmakers mirrored US tech losses, fueled by concerns over AI investment post-US midterm elections, impacting major tech and battery firms.
- Impact of US midterm elections on AI investment.
- Performance of key South Korean chip and battery manufacturers.
- Foreign investor activity and currency fluctuations.
SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
South Korean shares fell sharply on Thursday, as chipmakers tracked overnight losses in US tech stocks after the US midterm election results raised worries about a slowdown in AI investment.
The benchmark KOSPI was down 227.68 points, or 4.01%, at 5,459.70 as of 0157 GMT.
It fell more than 5% earlier in the session, triggering a “sidecar” trading curb.
Wall Street closed sharply higher on Wednesday as Democrats’ sweeping midterm election victory eased political uncertainty and boosted risk appetite, though data centre shares fell on fears of tighter AI regulation.
Chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 5.73% and peer SK Hynix lost 7.52%, after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 3.1% on Wednesday.
Battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 2.82%, while peers Samsung SDI and SK Innovation dropped 5.14% and 6.39%, respectively, after a rally on Wednesday on hopes of stronger electric-vehicle demand on Democrats’ climate-friendly policies.
Among other index heavyweights, Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were up 3.70% and 4.38%, respectively.
Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 1.09%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics rose 2.01%. Of the total 908 traded issues, 391 shares advanced, while 483 declined.
Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 1.3 trillion won ($969.07 million).
The won was quoted at 1,341.7 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.05% lower than its previous close at 1,341.0.
The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 3.3 basis points to 3.677%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 7.2 basis points to 3.896%.
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