Seoul: South Korean stocks closed slightly lower Friday after recovering most of their earlier losses, influenced by the United States' mixed signals regarding its negotiations with Iran and eased concerns over the semiconductor industry. The local currency weakened against the US dollar.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) initially plunged 2.93 percent before ending 0.4 percent lower at 5,438.87. This was after it had dipped to a low of 5,220.10 earlier in the trading session. Trade volume was moderate, with 889.8 million shares worth 23 trillion won (US$15.3 billion) changing hands. The market saw an almost even split between losers and winners, with 441 stocks declining and 436 advancing.
Foreign investors continued their selling trend, offloading a net 3.88 trillion won. In contrast, retail investors and institutions bought local shares valued at 2.7 trillion won and 778.7 billion won, respectively.
The KOSPI's initial decline tracked an overnight downturn on Wall Street, which was triggered by mixed messages from U.S. President Donald Trump regarding negotiations with Iran. Concerns were also heightened by Google's new AI compression algorithm, TurboQuant, which is anticipated to reduce the need for memory chips in AI models. Trump issued a warning to Iranian negotiators to "get serious soon," but later commented that substantial talks were ongoing between the U.S. and Iran. The White House also announced an extension of a pause on strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure until April 6.
Despite these uncertainties, the index managed to recover some losses in the afternoon as investors sought out blue-chip stocks perceived to be undervalued after a significant drop the previous day due to the TurboQuant shock, noted Lee Sung-hoon, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.
Among major stocks, Samsung Electronics finished 0.22 percent lower at 179,700 won, recovering from an early 4 percent drop, while SK hynix also rebounded to end the day 1.18 percent lower at 922,000 won. AI investment firm SK Square fell 2.51 percent to 544,000 won.
In the defense and manufacturing sectors, Hanwha Aerospace decreased by 2.48 percent to 1.34 million won, and Doosan Enerbility fell 2.78 percent to 98,100 won. Major shipbuilders also faced declines, with HD Hyundai Heavy dropping 2.45 percent to 498,500 won and Hanwha Ocean down 1.99 percent to 123,200 won. Meanwhile, HD Hyundai Electric saw a significant drop of 5.18 percent to 915,000 won.
On a positive note, Hyundai Motor gained 1.02 percent to 495,000 won, and LG Energy Solution increased by 2.6 percent to 394,500 won. Among bio companies, Samsung Biologics rose 1.32 percent to 1.6 million won, and Celltrion advanced 1.48 percent to 206,000 won.
The Korean won was quoted at 1,508.9 against the US dollar, marking a decrease of 1.9 won from the previous session and extending its decline for a third consecutive day. Bond prices also closed lower, with the yield on three-year Treasurys rising 3 basis points to 3.582 percent and the yield on five-year government bonds increasing by 3.7 basis points to 3.838 percent.