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

Seoul stocks commenced trading on Monday on a downward trajectory, as market participants remained cautious ahead of significant events, notably the forthcoming earnings announcement from the U.S. tech behemoth Nvidia. The KOSPI, the primary benchmark index in South Korea, fell by 0.73 percent, or 50.77 points, to 6,862.18 within the first minute of trading.

This decline marked a shift from Friday's closing above 6,900 points. The index's downside momentum was attributed to investors cashing in profits from large-cap chip stocks, as they eagerly awaited the impending earnings release from Nvidia for insights into the potential trajectory of the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. Notably, major indices on Wall Street had demonstrated resilience last week, closing higher despite a surge in U.S. government bond yields, as investors sought value through bargain purchases.

The S&P 500 and the tech-focused Nasdaq both reported a modest 0.43 percent increase. Furthermore, investors are closely monitoring the forthcoming Jackson Hole meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Korea's upcoming policy decision, scheduled for this week. Market cap leaders, such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, exhibited contrasting performance, with the former experiencing a 5.33 percent decline and the latter rallying 2.02 percent. Hyundai Motor, the world's top car manufacturer, showed a slight gain of 0.24 percent.