Seoul, Oct 30 (IANS) South Korean stocks sank more than 5 per cent on Friday, led by heavy losses in technology shares amid renewed concerns over the sustainability of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
After opening 2.99 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) extended its losses, falling 311.84 points, or 5.25 percent, to 5,626.02 as of 11:20 am, reports Yonhap news agency.
The sell-off followed overnight losses on Wall Street, where concerns over lofty AI-related valuations dampened investor sentiment.
As the market extended its decline, the Korea Exchange triggered a sell-side sidecar to suspend program trading for the KOSPI-listed shares for five minutes shortly after 10 a.m. The measure was activated for the first time in 11 trading days.
A sell-side sidecar is triggered when the KOSPI 200 Futures Index falls 5 percent or more for at least one minute.
KOSPI heavyweights traded lower. Top market cap Samsung Electronics fell 6.03 percent, and chip giant SK hynix plunged 8.65 percent.
Leading automaker Hyundai Motor slipped 3.76 percent after lowering its annual sales target and investment plans amid a challenging business environment.
Defence firm Hanwha Aerospace slumped 12.24 percent after reporting weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings due to delays in deliveries of K9 self-propelled howitzers to Poland.
The Korean won was trading at 1,337.8 won against the U.S. dollar as of 10:20 a.m., up 1.7 won from the previous session’s close.
Daily foreign exchange (FX) trading by banks in South Korea rose slightly to reach a new high in the third quarter on strong trade-related transactions, central bank data showed on Friday.
Average daily FX turnover, including derivatives trading, came to an average of US$122.01 billion during the July-September period, up $570 million, or 0.5 percent, from the second quarter, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The quarterly figure has been renewing records for the third consecutive quarter since the first quarter of this year.
The BOK said the on-quarter increase slowed as a sharp increase in FX trading by robust exports was partly offset by a decrease in offshore investors’ stock transactions amid a correction in the stock market.
Exports and imports rose to a combined $173.9 billion in the third quarter from $154.7 billion three months earlier, while foreigners traded 1,154 trillion won ($862.8 billion) worth of equities per month in July and August, down from a monthly average of 1,285 trillion won in the second quarter.
—IANS
na/
