(LEAD) Seoul stocks open lower on Wall Street losses, AI concerns

South Korean stocks began the trading day on a down note on Friday, mirroring losses from Wall Street overnight, as fresh doubts emerged regarding the durability of the artificial intelligence (AI) surge. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), a key indicator, slid 228.43 points, or 3.85 percent, to 5,709.23 as of 9:15 a.m., after opening 2.99 percent lower. This decline was fueled by renewed apprehension about the AI boom's viability, impacting investor confidence.

The previous day witnessed a 1.24 percent drop in the KOSPI following profit-taking in heavyweight chip stocks, despite Samsung Electronics' robust quarterly earnings report. Overnight, U.S. shares experienced a downturn, primarily driven by a sell-off in technology equities. Alphabet, Google's parent company, saw its stock plummet over 12 percent, as it reported a 25 percent rise in revenue for the third quarter to $127.58 billion, slightly below market projections.

This revenue surge, while substantial, triggered concerns about the returns on the significant investments poured into AI initiatives.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index experienced a 1.38 percent decline, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 1.4 percent, further dampening investor sentiment towards South Korean chipmakers. Among the major companies, Samsung Electronics, a top market cap entity, fell by 3.66 percent, while chipmaker SK hynix recorded a more pronounced loss of 6.82 percent.

In automotive and defense sectors, Hyundai Motor Company experienced a 2.39 percent decrease after adjusting its annual sales forecast and investment plans due to an increasingly challenging business environment. Meanwhile, Hanwha Aerospace, a defense firm, plummeted 7.76 percent following weaker-than-anticipated third-quarter earnings, which were impacted by delays in delivering K9 self-propelled howitzers to Poland.

The Korean won opened the day at 1,339.2 per U.S. dollar, marking a 0.3 win increase from the previous session's close.