Seoul: South Korean stocks ended the day with a significant downturn, closing nearly 1.5 percent lower as both tech and financial shares experienced steep declines. The local currency, however, strengthened against the U.S. dollar.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell by 37.64 points, or 1.45 percent, concluding at 2,556.15. The trading volume was somewhat modest with 396.7 million shares changing hands, valued at 10.7 trillion won (approximately US$7.75 billion). Despite the downturn, the number of gainers slightly exceeded losers, with 473 stocks rising compared to 401 that fell.
The decline followed a weak performance on Wall Street, where chip companies such as Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia saw losses. Analysts attributed the KOSPI’s fall to foreign investors selling off shares, lacking any significant positive momentum to boost market sentiment. Foreign investors sold 863.5 billion won worth of local shares, while retail investors and institu
tions purchased a combined total of 894.4 billion won.
Market leader Samsung Electronics saw a slight increase of 0.17 percent to 59,200 won, following an earnings conference where the company projected a rise in HBM3E sales for the fourth quarter. In contrast, its competitor SK hynix dropped 4.46 percent to 186,300 won. The financial sector suffered substantial losses, with KB Financial declining 3.83 percent to 90,300 won and Shinhan Financial plummeting 5.87 percent to 51,300 won. Samsung C and T also saw a significant drop of 9.93 percent to 117,000 won.
Bio and automotive shares were not spared from the downturn. Samsung Biologics decreased by 2.81 percent to 1 million won, and Celltrion fell by 2.77 percent to 182,500 won. Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s leading automaker, saw a dip of 2.49 percent to 215,000 won, while Kia declined by 2.34 percent to 91,900 won.
Korea Zinc, recognized as the world’s largest zinc smelter and currently embroiled in a management control conflict, experienced a sharp decli
ne of 7.68 percent to 998,000 won, attributed to its capital increase strategy. Meanwhile, the local currency was trading at 1,379.9 won against the U.S. dollar by 3:30 p.m., marking an increase of 2.5 won from the previous session.