Seoul stocks open lower on profit-taking, ahead of Nvidia earnings

SEOUL, Aug. 24 (Yonhap) -- The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) started the trading day on a negative note on Monday, as investors refrained from taking positions ahead of significant events. The benchmark index dropped 0.73 percent, or 50.77 points, reaching 6,862.18 points in the initial minute of trading. This decline came after the index had closed above 6,900 points the previous day.

The modest sell-off was driven by investors cashing in gains from large-cap chip stocks and closely monitoring the forthcoming earnings release from U.S. chip giant Nvidia. Nvidia's results are expected to provide valuable insights into the trajectory of the artificial intelligence (AI) market.

While Wall Street's major stock indexes showed resilience, closing higher for the week despite a rise in U.S. government bond yields, the bargain-hunting spirit was evident among investors. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq both ended the trading session up by 0.43 percent each.

Furthermore, investors are closely watching the Jackson Hole meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the upcoming policy meeting of the Bank of Korea this week. Samsung Electronics experienced a decline of 5.33 percent, while its rival SK hynix saw an increase of 2.02 percent. Hyundai Motor edged up by 0.24 percent, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace rose by 1.84 percent. Conversely, KB Financial dropped by 2.43 percent.

At the close of the previous trading session, the Korean won was quoted at 1,383.8 won per U.S. dollar, reflecting a 2.2 won increase.