Seoul stocks sharply down late Thurs. morning amid AI concerns

SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- By late Thursday morning, Seoul's stock market was experiencing a sharp decline as worries about investments in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector triggered a sell-off among major chip companies. The KOSPI index, which had opened 1.14 percent lower, continued its downward trajectory, slipping 129.12 points, or 2.25 percent, to reach 5,605.54 by 11:20 a.m. The index's losses appeared to stem from profit-taking after a volatile session.

Overnight, U.S. stocks showed a mixed performance. While the NASDAQ Composite gained 1.05 percent following strong earnings from Meta Platforms, which increased its investment in the AI sector, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.69 percent, the S&P 500 saw a modest gain of 0.58 percent.

However, the negative sentiment in the Korean market was largely driven by the performance of chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which both lost 3.36 percent and 3.63 percent, respectively. Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics involved in electronics components, saw a slight decline of 0.98 percent after opening higher due to a reported collaboration with Nvidia.

This afternoon, the Korean won strengthened slightly against the U.S. dollar, trading at 1,324 won, marking a 2-won increase from the previous session's close.