Seoul stocks fall 0.98% as Nvidia chief Huang's exit rattles AI trade
South Korean stocks erased a strong opening rally and closed almost 1 percent lower on Friday, as investors weighed what the departure of Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang means for the artificial intelligence supply chain.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 52.20 points, or 0.98 percent, to 5,290.53. It had opened 2.05 percent higher and climbed as far as 5,504.44 before turning negative around 12:35 p.m.
Foreigners sold a net 550.5 billion won of Korean stocks, while institutions bought 2.3 billion won and individuals a net 17.2 billion won. Trade was light at 237.3 million shares worth 16 trillion won ($11.9 billion).
"KOSPI started higher but turned negative due to foreign sell-offs," said Lee Kyoung-min at Daishin Securities. "Without prominent negative factors, rising AI uncertainties weighed heavily on the market." Wall Street's main indices had closed lower overnight after Huang's exit.
Chip and AI-linked names led the decline. Samsung Electronics lost 0.96 percent to 206,000 won, SK hynix sank 3.03 percent to 1.2 million won and Samsung Electro-Mechanics fell 3.5 percent to 855,000 won. Naver, in which Nvidia is the third-largest shareholder, slumped 5.12 percent to 172,500 won. Hyundai Motor rose 1.13 percent and KB Financial Group gained 4.74 percent.
The won was quoted at 1,336.7 to the dollar at 3:30 p.m., up 6 won from the previous session's close. Investors are also awaiting US producer price data for clues on the Federal Reserve's next move, after this week's steeper-than-expected rise in consumer prices.
