S Korean shares fall 8%, set for worst week since March on US tech selloff

South Korean shares fell more than 8 per cent on Friday, putting the benchmark index on track for its biggest weekly drop in more than three months, as overnight losses in US tech stocks prompted investors to book profits.

The benchmark KOSPI was down 730.49 points, or 8.18 per cent, at 8,199.81, as of 0318 GMT. At 0310 GMT, the index triggered circuit breakers for the second time this week, halting trading for 20 minutes.

It was also the fifth time that circuit breakers were activated on the benchmark this year and the 11th in history amid heightened market volatility.

 

The KOSPI has fallen 9.4 per cent so far this week, heading for its biggest weekly loss since early March. It is still up 95 per cent so far this year, after rising 76 per cent last year.

Chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which together account for more than 50 per cent of the benchmark, fell more than 9 per cent each.

"Today's slump can be mostly explained by high volatility amid concentration in the chip sector, while worries about memory demand declining are a bit excessive," said Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.

US technology shares reversed early gains to move lower on Thursday, weighing on the Nasdaq as investors worried about hyperscaler spending on AI and who foots the bill. Those fears outweighed upbeat signals on AI demand from Micron and Qualcomm.

Samsung Group will announce on Monday plans to invest 1,000 trillion won ($645.87 billion) in South Korea over 10 years, including a potential 300 trillion won to build chip factories in the southwest of the country, a report said.

Most index heavyweights fell, with battery maker LG Energy Solution down 7.24 per cent, while Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp declined 7.55 per cent and 6.38 per cent, respectively.

Of the total 915 traded issues, only 61 shares advanced, while 848 declined.

Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 3 trillion won.

The won was quoted at 1,547.2 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, down 0.26 per cent from its previous close of 1,543.1. 

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)