Seoul shares down over 3% late Wednesday morning amid US-Iran tensions, tech losses

The won-dollar exchange rate and the benchmark KOSPI are displayed on a screen in Hana Bank, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

Korean stocks were trading more than 3 percent lower late Wednesday morning amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran and sharp losses in technology shares.

After opening 2.43 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) extended losses, shedding 286.99 points, or 3.54 percent, to 7,809.94 as of 11:20 a.m.

The KOSPI lost ground on reports that the U.S. has struck Iran in response to the shooting down of an American Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran hit back.

Market sentiment was also weighed down as doubts over the valuation of stocks related to artificial intelligence (AI) resurfaced on news that Crusoe Energy Systems, a data center developer, suspended one of its projects upon the request of an unidentified big tech customer.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite closed 0.97 percent lower, and the S&P 500 dropped 0.26 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.17 percent.

Major tech shares led the market decline, with Broadcom losing 1.12 percent, Apple sliding 3.64 percent, Micron falling 1.4 percent and Nvidia down 0.2 percent.

In Seoul, most big-cap shares were in negative territory.

Market top-cap Samsung Electronics slid 5.36 percent lower, tracking U.S. tech losses, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix dropped 5.46 percent.

AI investment firm SK Square dipped 4.81 percent, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics slipped 4.67 percent.

Samsung Life Insurance lost 5.85 percent, and Samsung C&T contracted 6.18 percent.

Home appliances maker LG Electronics nosedived 7.26 percent and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution went down 2.08 percent.

Auto shares also turned lower, with Hyundai Motor down 4.07 percent.

Major shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy was among the few winners, jumping 5.56 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,523.6 won against the U.S. dollar at 11:20 a.m., down 11.5 won from the previous session.