Seoul shares narrow losses late Mon. morning on institutional buying

Seoul shares saw a slight rebound on Monday morning, recovering from a sharp 3.17 percent drop after a technology-led sell-off on Wall Street, which fueled speculation about heavy spending on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended the session 0.26 percent lower at 5,653.25, following a 14.8-point decline from the previous session.

Earlier that day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.34 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 2.14 percent. Institutional investors bought a total of 377.27 billion won (US$284 million) worth of stocks, while foreigners and individual investors sold 84.13 billion won and 555.03 billion won, respectively. Concerns about upcoming earnings reports from major companies like Tesla and Meta Platforms, along with the upcoming U.S. midterm elections on November 3, continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

Market leaders such as Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, SK Telecom, and HD Hyundai Electric all experienced declines, while Hyundai Motor and Korean Air showed gains. As of 11:20 a.m., the Korean won was trading at 1,329.80 against the U.S. dollar, up 6.7 won from the previous day's close.