Seoul:South Korean stocks sank more than 5 percent late Friday morning, driven by significant losses in technology shares amid concerns over the sustainability of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
According to Yonhap News Agency, after opening 2.99 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) extended its losses, dropping 311.84 points, or 5.25 percent, to 5,626.02 as of 1120 a.m. The sell-off followed overnight losses on Wall Street, where worries over high AI-related valuations affected investor sentiment.
As the market's decline continued, the Korea Exchange triggered a sell-side sidecar to temporarily suspend program trading for KOSPI-listed shares for five minutes shortly after 10 a.m. This measure was activated for the first time in 11 trading days, responding to a fall of 5 percent or more in the KOSPI 200 Futures Index for at least one minute.
Key market players experienced significant drops. Samsung Electronics, the top market cap, fell 6.03 percent, while chip giant SK hynix plunged 8.65 percent. Hyundai Motor, a leading automaker, slipped 3.76 percent after lowering its annual sales target and investment plans due to a challenging business environment.
Defense firm Hanwha Aerospace saw a sharp decline of 12.24 percent after reporting weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings, attributed to delays in deliveries of K9 self-propelled howitzers to Poland. Meanwhile, the Korean won was trading at 1,337.8 won against the U.S. dollar as of 1020 a.m., up 1.7 won from the previous session's close.