South Korean shares at two-week low as chipmakers drop on AI concerns

Kakao

31/01/2025 01:31

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      KOSPI falls, foreigners net sellers
    

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      Korean won weakens against dollar
    

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      South Korea benchmark bond yield falls
    

  
       SEOUL, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean
financial markets:
    
    ** South Korean shares dropped on Friday to their lowest
levels in two weeks, following a four-day holiday break, as
major chipmakers mirrored the sharp decline in U.S. tech stocks
earlier this week. 
    ** The benchmark KOSPI  .KS11  was down 19.75 points, or
0.78%, at 2,517.05, as of 0056 GMT. 
    ** During the session, the benchmark index fell as much as
1.5% and hit its lowest level since Jan. 15. 
    ** South Korea's financial markets were closed from Monday
to Thursday for Lunar New Year holidays. 
    ** South Korea's acting President Choi Sang-mok on Thursday
ordered that policies of the new U.S. administration and their
potential impact on markets be closely monitored.
    ** This week, U.S. chipmaker Nvidia  NVDA.O  fell more than
12%, as the launch of China's DeepSeek raised concerns about
growing competition in the artificial intelligence sector. 
    ** SK Hynix, a major supplier of high-end chips for Nvidia,
fell more than 10%. 
    ** Rival Samsung Electronics  005930.KS  fell more than 3%,
as the chipmaker expected limited first-quarter earnings growth
due to weak memory chip business conditions.
    ** Online platform service providers, including Naver
 035420.KS  and Kakao  035720.KS , rallied on hopes of cheaper
AI costs. 
    ** Shares of Air Busan  298690.KS  dropped as much as 6.1%,
after a plane belonging to the budget carrier caught fire
earlier this week.
     ** Of the total 935 traded issues, 353 shares advanced,
while 529 declined.
    ** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 702.3 billion
won ($483.54 million).
    ** The won was quoted at 1,448.1 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform  KRW=KFTC , 1.15% lower than its previous
close at 1,431.4.
    ** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield
 KR3YT=RR  fell by 3.2 basis points to 2.536%, while the
benchmark 10-year yield  KR10YT=RR  dropped 4.3 basis points to
2.818%.

   ($1 = 1,452.4200 won)

 (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
 ((jihoon.lee@thomsonreuters.com;))