(LEAD) Seoul stocks end tad higher on bargain hunting

South Korean stocks plummeted significantly on Friday morning due to investors selling off major chip shares to secure profits, as losses in U.S. artificial intelligence and semiconductor stocks spilled over into the Korean market. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 135.29 points, or 2.44%, to 5,398.48 by 11:20 a.m., a sharp drop from its 2.36% opening decline.

Overnight, U.S. stocks ended mixed, with major technology shares taking a hit. The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a slight gain of 0.02%, while the S&P 500 dropped 1.21% and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite fell 2.6%. Key semiconductor companies like Micron Technology, Nvidia, and Intel all experienced substantial losses, with Micron down 6.26%, Nvidia 4.4%, and Intel 8.04%.

Semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix also saw declines, with Samsung Electronics falling 3.03% and SK hynix 0.25%. The latter's earlier gains were reversed after it announced plans to suspend the listing of its U.S. subsidiary, Solidigm. SK hynix's decision to halt the listing of Solidigm, a subsidiary under its control, raised concerns about the potential weakening of the parent company's stock value, known as the "holding company discount."

As of 11:20 a.m., the South Korean won was trading at 1,324 per U.S. dollar, an increase of 2.5 won from the previous stock trading session.