South Korea shares slip as AI trade falters ahead of megacap earnings

LG Energy Solution

26/10/2026 07:07

KOSPI falls, foreigners net sellers
Korean won strengthens against dollar
South Korea benchmark bond yield falls
For the midday report, please click nL2N46C04G
SEOUL, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets: ** South Korean shares closed down on Monday as concerns over the AI trade intensified ahead of earnings from US megacap tech companies this week. 
The won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield fell. ** The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 closed down 80.83 points, or 1.46%, at 5,469.47. ** Chipmaker Samsung Electronics 005930.KS fell 1.16%, while peer SK Hynix 000660.KS lost 0.16%.
** SK Hynix said it will announce shareholder return measures on Wednesday when the South Korean chipmaker releases quarterly results, responding to a report that it is considering a special dividend of about 16 trillion won ($12 billion).  ** Among other index heavyweights, battery maker LG Energy Solution 373220.KS slid 2.09%, while Hyundai Motor 005380.KS and sister automaker Kia Corp 000270.KS were down 2.54% and down 1.68%, respectively.
** This week, about one-third of S&P 500 companies report quarterly results, including Alphabet GOOGL.O, Microsoft MSFT.O and Amazon AMZN.O, three AI hyperscalers whose capital spending forecasts will be closely watched. ** Steelmaker POSCO Holdings 005490.KS shed 2.18%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics 207940.KS fell 0.95%. ** Of the total 914 traded issues, 101 shares advanced, while 792 declined. ** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 695.5 billion won. ** The won was quoted at 1,323.1 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform KRW=KFTC, 0.23% higher than its previous close at 1,326.2. ** In offshore trading, the won KRW= was quoted at 1,322.3 per dollar, up 0.1% on the day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract KRW1MNDFOR= was quoted at 1,321.3. ** The KOSPI has risen 29.79% so far this year. ** The won has strengthened 8.8% against the dollar so far this year. ** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds KTBc1 gained 0.12 point to 103.27. ** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield KR3YT=RR fell by 2.8 basis points to 3.788%, while the benchmark 10-year yield KR10YT=RR fell by 2.5 bps to 4.074%.

 (Reporting by Cynthia Kim; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
 ((Cynthia.Kim@thomsonreuters.com; 822 3704 5655; Reuters Messaging: cynthia.kim.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))