SEOUL—The South Korean stock market remained largely static late Tuesday morning as investors adopted a wait-and-see approach in anticipation of upcoming U.S. economic data releases. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) marginally dropped by 1.99 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,616.31 by 11:20 a.m.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the slight decline in the KOSPI reflects investor caution ahead of key U.S. economic indicators, including the consumer price index and retail sales data, set to be released starting Wednesday. Despite the overall market's sluggish performance, individual sectors showed mixed results. Samsung Electronics saw a modest increase of 0.4 percent, while SK hynix rose by 1.69 percent, buoyed by gains in U.S. AI chip giant Nvidia. Financial stocks such as KB Financial and Shinhan Financial were up 2.91 percent and 1.85 percent, respectively. However, major biotechnology firms such as Samsung Biologics and Celltrion faced declines, and other sectors like shipping and internet services also recorded losses. The local currency, the won, strengthened slightly, trading at 1,370 won against the U.S. dollar, up 2 won from the previous session's close.