Seoul:Seoul shares dropped by more than 5 percent on Tuesday, marking a fifth consecutive session of losses as technology stocks declined due to renewed concerns over the artificial intelligence sector and inflation. The Korean won also traded lower against the U.S. dollar.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened 3.1 percent lower and eventually fell 348.89 points, or 5.46 percent, to close at 6,035.35. Foreign investors sold a net 4.51 trillion won (US$3.35 billion) worth of stocks, while institutional and individual investors bought a net 1.69 trillion won and 2.23 trillion won, respectively.
The Korea Exchange (KRX), South Korea's bourse operator, triggered a sell-side sidecar during morning trading after the KOSPI's significant drop. The trading volume was moderate with 399.87 million shares valued at 26.79 trillion won, and decliners outnumbered advancers 628 to 246.
Concerns surrounding OpenAI's revenue and the completion of share buybacks by local chipmakers adversely affected tech stocks, as noted by Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities. Meanwhile, overnight U.S. stock markets showed mixed results with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.38 percent and the Nasdaq composite falling 0.44 percent, amid reports of rapid tech advancements by Chinese rival ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT).
Investors are now anticipating the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) report, expected on Wednesday, for insights into the Federal Reserve's policy direction ahead of its October rate-setting meeting.
In Seoul, major tech stocks led the downturn. Samsung Electronics saw a decline of 7.39 percent to 232,000 won, while SK hynix plunged 10.09 percent to 1.44 million won. Other notable declines included Hanwha Aerospace, which dropped 2.67 percent to 839,000 won, and Hyundai Motor, which fell 1.56 percent to 315,000 won.
On the other hand, some companies saw gains, with shipping firm HMM rising 1.15 percent to 22,050 won and Korea Electric Power Corp. climbing 2.1 percent to 29,150 won. The Korean won was quoted at 1,345.1 won against the U.S. dollar as of 330 p.m., down from 1,335.1 won at the previous session's close.