South Korean shares fall as chipmakers track US tech slump
SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets: South Korean shares fell sharply on Thursday , as chipmakers tracked overnight losses in US tech stocks after the US midterm election results raised worries about a slowdown in AI investment. The benchmark KOSPI was down 227.68 points, or 4.01%, at 5,459.70 as of 0157 GMT. It fell more than 5% earlier in the session, triggering a “sidecar”…
South Korean shares experienced a sharp decline on Thursday as chipmakers mirrored the overnight losses of US tech stocks following the US midterm election results, which heightened concerns over a potential slowdown in AI investment. The KOSPI index plummeted by 227.68 points, or 4.01%, reaching 5,459.70 as of 0157 GMT. Earlier in the day, it had plummeted by more than 5%, triggering a "sidecar" trading halt.
Despite Wall Street closing significantly higher on Wednesday due to Democrats' sweeping midterm election victory, which alleviated political uncertainty and bolstered risk appetite, data center shares still fell due to worries about stricter AI regulation. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, major chipmakers, saw declines of 5.73% and 7.52%, respectively, following a 3.1% drop in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index on Wednesday.
Battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution decreased by 2.82%, while other industry peers, such as Samsung SDI and SK Innovation, experienced reductions of 5.14% and 6.39%, respectively. The rally on Wednesday, driven by hopes of stronger electric-vehicle demand under Democrats' climate-friendly policies, did little to shield battery makers and other chipmakers from the adverse effects of heightened AI regulation fears.
Among other major indices, Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp showed gains of 3.70% and 4.38%, respectively. POSCO Holdings, a steelmaker, shed 1.09%, and Samsung BioLogics, a drugmaker, rose by 2.01%. Out of the 908 traded issues, 391 advanced while 483 declined. Foreign investors were net sellers, selling shares worth 1.3 trillion won ($969.07 million).
The Korean won was quoted at 1,341.7 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, a 0.05% decline from its previous close at 1,341.0. The most actively traded three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 3.3 basis points to 3.677%, while the benchmark 10-year yield declined by 7.2 basis points to 3.896%.
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