Seoul shares sharply down late Tuesday morning on tech sell-off
The benchmark KOSPI is displayed at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
Seoul shares extended their losses late Tuesday morning, as fresh woes over rising competition from China and artificial intelligence (AI) valuations emerged ahead of major corporate earnings reports and the release of U.S. inflation data.
After opening 3.1 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 386.25 points, or 6.05 percent, to 5,997.99 as of 11:20 a.m.
Foreigners sold a net 2.3 trillion won ($1.7 billion) worth of stocks, while institutions and individuals bought a net 808.9 billion won and 1.27 trillion won, respectively.
Overnight, U.S. stocks ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.38 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite falling 0.44 percent.
Investors are awaiting the U.S. consumer price index report due Wednesday (U.S. time), which could offer further clues about the Federal Reserve's policy outlook ahead of its October rate-setting meeting.
In Seoul, tech stocks led the decline.
Market behemoth Samsung Electronics plunged 7.29 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix declined 8.35 percent.
Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace dropped 5.34 percent, and top carmaker Hyundai Motor shed 5.78 percent.
Among gainers, Hybe, the agency behind K-pop boy band BTS, rose 2.6 percent and shipping firm HMM climbed 0.23 percent.
The Korean won was trading at 1,339.45 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., down 3.65 won from the previous stock trading session's close.