Seoul:Shares in Seoul plunged by more than 5 percent on Tuesday, marking a fifth consecutive session of losses. The decline was driven by a sell-off in technology stocks, fueled by renewed concerns over the artificial intelligence sector and inflation.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Korean won also fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened 3.1 percent lower and ended the day down 348.89 points, or 5.46 percent, at 6,035.35.
Foreign investors sold a net 4.51 trillion won (approximately US$3.35 billion) worth of stocks. In contrast, institutional investors and individual investors purchased a net 1.69 trillion won and 2.23 trillion won, respectively. The Korea Exchange, South Korea's bourse operator, activated a sell-side sidecar during morning trading after the KOSPI dropped more than 5 percent for at least one minute.
The trading volume was moderate, with 399.87 million shares exchanging hands, valued at 26.79 trillion won. Decliners outnumbered advancers by 628 to 246.
In the U.S., stocks had closed mixed the previous night. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.38 percent, while the Nasdaq composite, which is heavily weighted toward technology stocks, fell by 0.44 percent. Chipmakers were particularly hard hit following reports of rapid technological advancements by Chinese competitor ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT).
Investors are now looking ahead to the U.S. consumer price index report, scheduled for release on Wednesday (U.S. time), for insights into the Federal Reserve's policy direction ahead of its October rate-setting meeting.