Seoul shares open lower on Democratic Party victory in US midterm elections
Korean stocks started lower Thursday as the U.S. midterm elections ended with a Democratic Party victory, raising concerns over tighter artificial intelligence (AI) regulations. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 112.81 points, or 1.98 percent, to 5,570.99 as of 9:15 a.m. U.S. stocks finished higher as the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3 percent, and the S&P 500…
Korean stocks opened lower on Thursday as the U.S. midterm elections concluded with a Democratic Party triumph, sparking worries about more stringent artificial intelligence (AI) regulations. The KOSPI index slipped 112.81 points, or 1.98 percent, to 5,570.99. Despite this, U.S. stocks saw gains, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 3 percent and the S&P 500 increasing 1.6 percent.
The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.4 percent. However, the PHLX chip index declined 3.1 percent, reaching a six-month low, as investors fretted over potential AI data center restrictions under the new Democrats-led Congress. Semiconductor shares played a role in the negative start in Seoul, with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix both dropping, along with Hanmi Semiconductor and SK Square.
Oil refiners SK Innovation and S-Oil also suffered losses, while the Korean won was trading at 1,340.25 won per U.S. dollar at 9:15 a.m.
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.
