KOSPI falls below 6,700 on AI growth, oil, rate concerns
The KOSPI fell below 6,700 Monday as concerns over a possible slowdown in AI development triggered heavy foreign selling, with high oil prices and elevated interest rates adding to investor unease. The benchmark index closed at 6,684.37, down 3.26 percent from the previous session. It opened 3.14 percent lower and fell as much as 3.69 percent to 6,654.82 in mid-morning trading but slightly closed…
On Monday, the KOSPI, South Korea's key stock market index, dropped below the 6,700 mark due to worries about a potential slowdown in artificial intelligence (AI) development. Foreign investors heavily sold their positions, contributing to the decline, along with high oil prices and rising interest rates, which further unsettled investors.
The benchmark index concluded at 6,684.37, marking a 3.26 percent decrease from the previous trading day. It opened 3.14 percent lower and plummeted as much as 3.69 percent to 6,654.82 during early trading hours before regaining some ground. Foreign and institutional investors collectively sold a net 3.29 trillion won ($2.4 billion), while retail investors bought shares worth 1.17 trillion won.
In contrast, individual investors purchased a net 2.97 trillion won in shares. Among the impacted companies, SK hynix dropped 6.35 percent to close at 1,697,000 won, and Samsung Electronics declined 4.05 percent, settling at 249,000 won. The debate surrounding the potential need to slow down the pace of AI development has cast a shadow over investor confidence in semiconductor stocks.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei suggested a reduction in the speed of creating advanced AI models to allocate more time for implementing robust safety measures. This idea received backing from Sam Altman and Elon Musk. The concern persists that a deceleration in the AI development race could adversely affect the market.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- KOSPI falls below 6,700 on AI growth, oil, rate concerns koreatimes.co.kr
